Sins of the Father
by NajwaBarlaam
Summary: Update error fixed! James meets his match in a Slytherin who doesn't think too much of him, and Rose decides that Scorpius may be a great deal more interesting than she ever gave him credit for. There is something about bad boys and bad girls, after all.
1. War

_A/N – Fair warning, the first part of the story will involve a lot of James and an original character. I've gone this route because I really dislike when I feel that characters don't make sense. I know who I want Scorpius to be in this story, but for that I need his mom to be who I've made her (which doesn't align with J.K. Rowling's imagination, apparently), Draco to have been altered by his wife, and Hunter (the OC) to be a huge factor in Scorpius' life. If I take out the OC, I feel like I can't make Scorpius anything but a reincarnation of Draco or a sniveling wussy boy. I vastly prefer the good boy turned bad boy turned real good man I've envisioned to either of those options. So, the story will go James+OC; some communal bits where you get to see how Scorpius and the OC interact (plus the Weasley and Potter clans); Scorpius + Rose; and then some James and Scorpius stuff (not slash, just sort of their opinions of each other). And then probably some more of each pairing, because that's just how I roll. _

_Plus also, in the interest of fair warnings, there's kind of a ridiculous amount of sex between James and the OC. It's a part of how I plan to redeem the ass-y James I've developed. But, you know, probably just seems gratuitous at the beginning. Or really all throughout. Maybe I'm just way to concerned with the psychology of my characters. Damn psych classes in college.  
_

_Anyway, I'd encourage you to give the first chapter or two a try. If you're at all interested after that, it's probably worth reading until you get to your desired pairing. If you don't like the first chapter, you probably won't like any of it. __ Luckily, there are many, many fanfics out there, so I'm sure you can find something more to your taste. _

_

* * *

_

James strolled down the hall. He knew curfew had ended an hour ago, but he didn't care. He had the cloak and the map. After six years – well, five and a half – teachers still never managed to catch him when he had those two tools on his side.

He glanced toward the corridor on the right, hearing a noise. He checked the map. _Kimball Hunter._ Excellent, he thought. He could do with some Slytherin baiting.

He crept down the hall, wanting to catch her unawares.

"Well, well, well," he said, making her spin around. "And what's a Slytherin doing out of bed at this time of night?"

"What's a Gryffindor doing asking questions?" she returned. "Isn't it more 'Gryffindor, attack!' and then you lot run off to demonstrate your _bravery_?" she mocked.

He walked toward her. "As opposed to Slytherins," he said, wand in hand. "Who sneak around trying to stab people in the back and slit their throats in their sleep."

She rolled her eyes. "Feeling dramatic today, are you, Potter?"

"That sounds about right to me," he said, backing her toward to wall.

"I guess if you're famous Harry Potter's son, the best you can do is hope for another war. How else could you live up to his reputation?"

He raised his wand. "Hoping for another war sounds more like a Slytherin to me."

She held his gaze. "I guess we'll just have to agree to disagree." She moved to step forward, but froze when he didn't shift out of the way. "I don't know about you, but I wasn't actually planning on spending the night in this corridor."

"You haven't told me what a Slytherin's doing out of bed at this hour," he said, leaning closer. He couldn't help being pleased with how uncomfortable she seemed.

"Well, I was waiting for you of course," she purred, her whole demeanor changing. She traced a hand down his chest. "I just can't resist the lure of _the_ James Potter."

She tilted her head slightly, and James found himself staring at her mouth. He hadn't seen this coming.

She leaned up to kiss him and he felt himself giving in despite his best efforts to remember whose mouth moved over his. The moment he relaxed, he felt her bite his lip. He tasted blood at the same moment pain exploded in his crotch, dropping him to his knees. She had actually kicked him in the balls.

"Bitch," he called after her as she strode out of the room. He looked up in time to see her give him the finger on her way out the door. He _hated_ Slytherins.

* * *

James took a seat at the Gryffindor table for breakfast. He determinedly didn't look at the Slytherin table. He'd probably see Hunter relaying the story of his suffering to Malfoy if he did.

"Whoa," Albus said, pointing to James' mouth. "What happened to your lip?"

"I ran into a wall."

"Really?" Albus responded, disbelieving. "It looks like someone bit it."

James changed tactics. "A gentleman doesn't kiss and tell," he said, grinning.

Albus snorted. "I've never heard anyone call you a gentleman."

James smiled his best secretive smile and dug in, trying to plan how best to get back at the bitch.

He grinned evilly as the perfect plan came to him. He glanced over at her table. Sure enough, she was sitting with Malfoy. They didn't glance in his direction at all, but he still felt certain she was telling him about their encounter the night before.

Inhaling his food, he planned exactly how he would execute his revenge.

"Where's the fire?" Rose asked, watching his hurried movements.

"I've things to do," he said, shoving his empty plate away and rising. "You kiddies have a good day."

He saw them exchange a look and roll their eyes as he turned away.

* * *

It didn't take him long at all to bewitch all the boys toilets to display a scandalous image of her. He guessed it would be fairly accurate. He had drawn the line at actually doing reconnaissance to discovery _exactly_ what she looked like without clothes, knowing his parents would consider that out of order.

Still, he thought, examining the last of his work. He'd done quite a good job. Several of the images showed her in lewd and compromising positions. And he had bewitched the sinks to sing out insulting poems about her whenever someone washed his hands.

James headed to class, looking forward to watching the reactions of anyone coming back from a trip to the toilets.

* * *

James sat in his potions class, mostly ignoring the professor. He watched as Alan Thomas and Bertram Bell walked in late, grinning from ear to ear. _Excellent_, he thought.

"Sorry, Professor," Thomas was saying. "There was a line for the toilets."

Bell laughed. "It took ages to get in and out," he said. The pair shared an amused look.

"Right, right. Sit down," the professor said, waving them off.

James couldn't help but be pleased with himself.

* * *

He laughed when he came out of his first hour class. The bathrooms had all been cordoned off, and some of the girls' bathrooms had been relabeled as temporary boys' bathrooms. Clearly his protective additions to the charms were giving Flitwick some trouble. James knew his Charms professor would have it figured out before the end of the day, but he liked the idea that he'd given the old master a run for his money.

And the crowds eying the bathrooms with interest made him practically giddy. He kept an eye out for Hunter, but didn't see her passing in the halls. In fact, he didn't spot her at all until lunch. She ignored the catcalls and crude remarks with a calm James had to credit her for. Or, he would have had she not lured him into trusting her and then kicked his balls into his throat. And least he hadn't physically assaulted her.

He sat down at the table next to Thomas and Bell.

"Did you get to see it before they blocked them all off?" Bell asked.

James nodded. "Pretty good stuff," he grinned.

Thomas nodded emphatically.

"I'll bet half the stop up before class was blokes staying a bit long for, well," Bell made a motion with his hand.

James laughed out loud. "Probably," he agreed.

He tried not to make eye contact with Rose and Albus, who were giving him speculative looks. After a short discussion, he heard Rose say something about asking him.

He turned to her. "Yes, cuz?" he asked. "Was there something you wanted to say?"

She let out a long breath. "Please tell me you didn't have anything to do with it," she said. He hated that she always managed to make him feel guilty.

He gave her a disgusted look. "What do I want with a naked Slytherin," he responded in a scornful voice. "Wouldn't touch one with a ten foot pole," he declared. "She probably did it herself to get a bit of attention," he added for good measure.

"No girl likes this kind of attention, James," she chastised him.

He simply shrugged in response and tried not to look at Hunter. He could hear enough of the conversations going on around him to know they were _all_ about her. Maybe he had gone a bit overboard.


	2. A Very Bad Idea

_This chapter is M on several levels. Just fair warning. _

_

* * *

_

He stared at the map. _Kimball Hunter_. _Bloody Hell_, he thought. He should just keep walking. Why did he have to investigate every bloody thing anyway?

Because it would bother him if he didn't. He would spend the next week wondering what the Hell she was doing running around the halls at 3:00 am.

Knowing it was a very stupid idea, he walked toward her location. He spotted her up ahead. She seemed to be weaving quite a lot.

"Alright, Hunter?" he called.

She spun around to face him and lost her balance. She caught herself at the last minute, backing into a wall in the deserted corridor, laughing the whole time. She had the kind of laugh the crawled into your skin and vibrated there, long past the point it should.

"Fuck off, Potter," she said, when she seemed to gain control of herself.

He nodded, watching her from a safe distance. "I really should," he agreed.

"Mmm," she said, sort of rubbing against the wall and closing her eyes.

He considered her. "I'm beginning to wonder if those images in the toilets were accurate," he said.

"You're a bastard," she told him, without opening her eyes. She seemed to be almost . . . petting the wall now.

"What's wrong with you?" he asked, baffled.

She opened her eyes, smiling a glassy-eyed smile. "Nothing at all," she said. "I'm fabulous. I do think you should go away, though," she said. "It is a very, _very_ bad idea for me to be around you right now," she articulated carefully.

He took a tentative step forward. "I think it's a bad idea for you to be on your own right now," he said, watching as she closed her eyes again and made a sort of moaning sound. He walked toward her, maintaining his guard. "Did you take a potion gone wrong?" he asked.

She shook her head, still stroking the wall.

When he was close enough, he reached out to touch her face. He needed to know if the flush was a fever. If it was, he'd have to take her to the hospital wing. As his fingers brushed against her skin, she turned into them. She seemed almost like a cat, leaning into a stroking hand. And she definitely had a fever.

"We should get you to the hospital wing," he said, trying to keep his mind clear. Her reaction distracted him to no end.

"_That_," she said, "is another very bad idea," she laughed again, and he felt it seep into his skin. "You should go now," she added. At the same time, her hand came up – seemingly of its own will – to brush against his shirt in a mirror of her actions at their last meeting. He watched her lips part at the contact.

He tried to clear his brain enough to back up, but she pressed her body against his in a very diverting manner. "I really think I should take you-" he began, striving for sanity.

"Mmmmm . . ."she moaned, and slid her mouth over his.

He tried to remember the rest of his sentence, but he couldn't think past the feel of her mouth, the feel of her body. His hands began exploring her. She felt like a trembling furnace. Some part of his brain wanted to react to that thought, wanted to do something, but he lost the thread as she started pulling off his shirt.

He helped her drag it over his head and then did the same to hers. Pushing her back against the wall, he slid his knee in between her legs. She shifted against him, moaning, and he found that every sound she made had the same ability to climb inside him and make him lose his mind.

He trailed his mouth down her neck, dropped his hands to trace the edges of her skirt. When she undid the button of his trousers, he thought he would lose his mind. Deciding to leave the skirt, he gripped her hips and lifted her up for better access. She wrapped her legs around his waist, causing her skirt to ride up. Fumbling, he tore at the flimsy knickers she wore. She moaned and arched in response.

Pressing her back into the wall, he shifted her, repositioned himself, and slid inside her. She matched him move for move, thrust for thrust, moan for moan.

Bracing himself against the wall, he tried to hold on, not to finish too fast. He wanted this feeling to last forever. And then she moaned, clamping around him, dragging her nails down his back, sinking her teeth into his shoulder. And he lost himself.

Thinking he couldn't possibly stay on his feet another minute, he stepped back, releasing her hips and settling her gently on the ground.

She stumbled as she tried to stand on her own, laughing the same breathy laugh. "Such a bad idea," she said again. She leaned down to pick up her shirt, struggling to pull it back over her head and stay upright at the same time.

James was starting to remember why he'd been concerned in the first place.

"Hunter," he said, as she started walking away.

She gave him the finger again. He couldn't decide if it was comforting or not.

* * *

_A/N Somehow it feels so much sketchier to write scenes like this about the younger generation. Anyway, this is all I have for now. If I do decide to continue, it will definitely involve Scorpius and Rose and the whole gang (including Harry's generation). _


	3. Just A Bird

James woke the next morning, a clear memory of the night before in his head. He stretched and felt the discomfort of the scratches marring his back. He rolled out of bed, dressing in a haze.

"Late night last night, Potter?" Thomas asked.

James shrugged, deciding he had best keep his mouth closed on this one.

"Merlin," Bell whistled. "What did you do, volunteer to be a scratching post?"

"Chew toy as well," Thomas chuckled, pointing to the bite on James' shoulder.

James ignored them, pulling on a new shirt and scrubbing a hand through his hair. "Either of you lads have a quill I can borrow?" he asked as he packed up his bag for school. He lost quills more than any other human being on the planet. Sometimes he thought Albus stole them from him as a joke, but Albus wasn't really the pranking type.

Thomas nodded. "Sure," he said, tossing one to James, who hastily added it to his bag.

"Thanks, mate," he said.

Bell shook his head. "You could have at least tried to use the leverage to get him to tell you who it was," he complained to his friend.

Thomas shrugged. "My money's on the fifth year Hufflepuff. The one that's been trailing around after him for weeks."

Bell considered it, watching James for a reaction. "Could be," he said.

James laughed. "While you two lads speculate about my sex life, I'm going to go have breakfast. Growing boys need their fuel and all that."

Bell and Thomas both laughed. "Especially if they're going to be out all night shagging some random bird," Thomas pointed out.

James just flashed them a grin as he left the room, knowing perfectly well they'd have made a bet on who the girl was before the end of the day. He'd wager neither would guess Hunter though.

For the first time in his life, James found himself wishing he had classes with a Slytherin. Not that he liked her. Just that he wanted to shag her bloody senseless again.

He should also make sure she was ok, he thought, feeling his conscience kick in. She had seemed _quite_ off, and she had definitely been running a fever.

He stopped dead in his tracks, wondering for the first time if whatever she had might have been contagious.

He couldn't exactly count on a Slytherin to worry about infecting a Gryffindor with some random disease, he thought. He would definitely have to find a way to have word with her.

* * *

He kept his eyes peeled throughout the morning. He hadn't seen her at breakfast, but when he thought it over, he thought that might have been fairly common. He would wager she was a later sleeper and often missed breakfast as a result.

He spotted her just after second hour. He cast a quick spell on the parchment in her bag, allowing him to write messages to her on it. He did the same to her quill, ensuring she could respond. Generally it was a bad idea to do with someone in a different class, since you couldn't see if the teacher was around before you wrote one, but James thought it unlikely she would agree if he tried to talk to her in the hall.

He arrived at Transfiguration right as the hour chimed. Grinning at the professor, he slid into his usual seat in the back. Pulling out his parchment, he quickly scrawled a message on the corner of it.

* * *

_How are you feeling?_

_

* * *

_

He watched his paper, waiting to see if she'd reply.

* * *

**_Who's asking?_**

_

* * *

_

She would be suspicious, James thought. He wrote his next message without really thinking about it.

* * *

_There a lot of people with reason to think you weren't feeling well last night?_

* * *

For some reason it bothered him that she hadn't known who wrote her the message. Did she run around shagging guys in the hall all the time? He glanced back down at the parchment to see her response.

* * *

**_Ah, you. Do you make a habit of fucking girls you think need to be taken to the hospital wing?_**

_

* * *

_

James slid his book over the edge of his parchment, waiting for it to disappear and trying to compose a reasonable reply.

* * *

_No. In my defense, I tried to take you. You were the one that made the first move._

_

* * *

_

He tried to tune in to the lesson. He checked his parchment regularly, but didn't get a response. He decided to try again.

* * *

_Listen, I just need to know if whatever you had is catching._

* * *

He stared at the sentence. He decided it had come out appropriately neutral. She couldn't take offense to it. He was just asking a simple question.

* * *

**_Has anyone ever told you you're an ass?_**

* * *

He looked at the parchment in irritation. Here he was trying for civil, and she goes straight for the name calling.

* * *

_Probably not as often as they tell you you're a bitch._

_

* * *

_

Damn, he thought, the moment he wrote it. That was definitely stupid. Fat chance he ever had of shagging her again. And he'd probably never get an answer to his question. Fuck it, he thought. She's just a bird.

* * *

_A/N I wasn't sure the best way to do the formatting on this. Hope it was easy enough to follow._

_-Naj  
_


	4. Different

_A few weeks later_

_

* * *

_

James wasn't proud to be sitting in an empty classroom off the corridor they'd shagged in, waiting to see if she'd wander by. But he couldn't stop himself. He kept dreaming about her and waking up hard. Then he'd find himself sitting around, watching his map, waiting for her name to appear on it.

He thought his luck was out tonight, however. Her dot refused to show on the map.

Pulling a snitch out of his pocket, he began catching and releasing it. He couldn't very well let his quidditch skills rust just because a bird had cursed him with insomnia.

He spun around when he heard a noise at the far end of the corridor. He checked the map quickly, grinning when he saw her dot moving toward his location.

Telling himself to get it together, he went to lean against the door.

"Fancy meeting you here," he said in an unnaturally deep voice. He thought it had sounded better in his head. Clearly she did too, since she laughed out loud at him. He gripped the door frame. Even when it was insulting it turned him on.

She gave him a disgusted look. "What are you stalking me now?" she asked.

"Just –"

"Wondering what a Slytherin is doing out of bed at this hour," she finished for him. "Yeah, I've heard it before."

He took a step forward, reaching out to touch her hair.

She batted his hand away and stepped back. "Nuh uh, Potter," she said. "Not gonna happen."

"Seemed like it worked pretty well last time," he said, taking another step toward her.

She stared him down. "Remember what happened the time before that?" she asked in a sickly sweet voice.

He nodded, adding a bit of distance between her foot and his balls. "Yeah."

"Good, then we won't need to have a repeat," she said, walking past him.

James thought he might just have to resign himself to a term full of midnight wanks.

* * *

_A few weeks after that_

James ambled back to the dorms, full and happy. He loved the kitchens. And he knew house elves would forever have a special place in his heart.

As always, he detoured past the hallway. He decided it was neither lucky nor unlucky. The two events had canceled each other out. One was negative, one was positive. The end result was neutral. And yet he couldn't get from anywhere in the castle to his dorm without having to swing by this particular hallway. Which was not on his way at all.

He froze when he saw a form laying on the large desk in an empty classroom. He rushed in, ready to give aid. Then he realized it was her. She laughed at his entrance, but continued making little lights flash in the air above her head.

"Hi," he said.

"Mmmhhmm . . ." she responded, continuing to stare at the lights.

"I thought maybe you were hurt."

She laughed again. "How very Gryffindor of you, charging in to save the day," she said. "I'm fine," she told him. "I'm fantastic," she corrected, stretching luxuriously. His eyes followed her shirt as at rode up. And her left hand as it dropped to trail along the exposed skin.

He swallowed audibly.

"Yeah," he said. _Brilliant_, he thought. _Win her over with your witty responses_.

"Is this where you try to take me again?" she asked, shifting her gaze to his.

He flushed. "I was trying to take you to the hospital wing."

"Mmmm . . ." she said. "You can tell by how we ended up nowhere near it."

He cleared his throat. "You were distracting."

"I bet," she said. "You should go now," she added, turning to focus on the little lights again.

"Yeah," he said, not moving.

He watched her fingertips trail along the edge of the desk. "The thing is," she said. "If you don't leave, I'll have to. And I don't want to."

He moved toward her. "What's the difference?"

"Hmm . . ." she mumbled. "I'd rather stay where I am."

"No," he said, moving closer. "What's the difference between this time and last time? This is like before."

She smiled slightly, fingers brushing against the top of her jeans. "Yeah," she said. On a long breath, she waved her wand and made the lights go out. She rolled into a sitting position. James stood right in front of her.

"What's the difference?" he asked again, using one finger to lift her chin so that she looked directly at him. He tried not to get distracted by her hair. It had so many shades in it, from black to brown to golden to blonde to something very close to white. When she shifted, he thought it looked like shadows playing across straw or wheat.

He tried to focus on her eyes. But that may have been an even worse plan. They were golden, practically yellow. He didn't think he'd ever seen eyes as light as hers. They practically glowed. His gaze slid down to her mouth. Definitely his worst idea yet.

He brushed the back of his fingers downs the column of her throat, watched her head fall back. "Why do you want me to touch you now, but not before?" he asked, trying desperately to find the answer. He knew it would be crucial to his sanity.

"Why do you ask so many questions?" she breathed.

Trailing his fingers back up, he leaned in to kiss her. She responded without hesitation. He pressed her back against the desk, sliding his mouth down her neck and his hands up along the skin of her stomach. He noticed her skin felt equally hot tonight.

"You alright?" he asked, grazing his teeth along her neck.

She moaned in response. He decided to take it for a yes.

He caught his thumbs in the fabric of her shirt, pulling it up over her head and thanking Merlin he had the sense to enjoy the view more this time. He trailed his mouth down her chest, alternating between teeth and tongue and lips. His hands found the clasp of her jeans. Undoing them, he dragged them off her.

He pulled back, stroking his palm down the length of one long, long leg. She wrapped both legs around him. Feeling the rough fabric of his trousers, she seemed to realize he was still fully dressed.

"You're wearing too many clothes," she said, already making quick work of his shirt.

"Yeah," he said. "But I think I want to take my time tonight," he decided. "So it's not the worst idea in the world."

She didn't look convinced, but when he took her foot in his hand and brushed his thumb along the arch of it, she seemed to decide she didn't care.

He began working his way up her leg with his mouth. When he reached her thigh, he grazed it with his teeth, causing her to jerk and arch. Holding her in place, he bit just hard enough to make her moan.

The sound reminded him where they were. Pulling his wand out of his jeans, he muttered a few quick spells, ensuring the doors would remain locked and any potential passersby would hear none of the noises coming from inside the classroom.

He turned back to her. He had had a dream like this, just the other night. He decided to make every part he could a reality.


	5. Huge Mistake

He sat staring at the map. He knew about where she had appeared on it when he'd seen her last. Now he just needed to spot her before she disappeared.

He felt a little pathetic for the amount of time he spent staring at her dot on the map. Maybe more than a little pathetic. But he was damn well determined to figure out what made her act the way she did.

He had been watching her for hours. Well, watching the map. Her dot hadn't moved much. He guessed she was in her dorm. But it was getting late. He thought if she was going to sneak out of the castle, if would happen pretty soon.

Sure enough, within fifteen minutes he watched her dot move toward him. He put on his cloak and went to stand in the hall she was headed toward. He thought he knew where she would go.

He paced next to her as she walked back and forth three times. When the door opened, he walked through it with her. He glanced around the room in awe. Instead of a makeshift dorm, or a room full of junk, or a classroom for conducting secret lesson, he stood in a giant intersection of passageways. He supposed this explained how she managed to disappear from the map so often.

He followed hot on her heals as she made her way down one of the passages. He kept his wand at the ready, just in case they ended up somewhere dangerous.

After what seemed like ages, he felt the slope of the floor shift steeply up. He hadn't even realized they had been going downhill until they started climbing up.

She slowed, glancing around her. James held his breath. He couldn't stand it if she caught him this close to finding his answer.

When she began walking again, he wanted to breathe a sigh of relief, but refrained. He made his way silently behind her.

After a moment, she turned and began climbing a ladder built into the side of the passageway. He followed right behind her. When he got to the top, he managed to get out the trap door just before she went to shut it.

He looked around the empty old building they stood in. He thought it looked like a cellar. He followed her as she moved unerringly toward the stairs. James stared at them. This, he thought, would be a problem. At best, wooden stairs would creak. But these stairs had long since waved goodbye to their best. He thought they may collapse of rot if he made a wrong step.

Mimicking her movements to the best of his ability, he followed her up. He saw her pause once when the wood protested his weight, but she kept going.

James watched her turn a corner and hurried to follow her. He walked out into the alley and saw that she stood with her wand pointed at the door. He tried to sidestep slowly and tripped over some sort of wire, crashing loudly to the ground.

He felt his body seize up when she petrified him.

She stepped over to him, feeling around. After a moment, she pulled off the cloak.

"You," she said, contempt evident in her voice. "I suppose you figure I'm off to torture mudbloods or some such thing," she said.

She bent down, pulled his wand out of his hand, and released him from the spell. She kept her wand trained on him the entire time.

"I didn't actually," he said, anger radiating from every tone. "At least, not until I found out you use that word so casually."

She snorted. "Yes," she said. "My ironic use of a bad word is a clear sign I'm a sadist," she shook her head. "You've been following me since Hogwarts?" she asked.

He nodded. "I want to know why the hell you act the way you do sometimes, and then don't other times. It doesn't make sense. I can't find any potion that explains your symptoms."

She rolled her eye up toward the sky. "My symptoms?"

"Yeah," he said. "For the fever there are plenty. But for the whole . . . touching thing, I can't find any."

She stared at him. "The whole 'touching thing'," she repeated.

"Yeah," he said. "When you have the fever, it's like everything you touch feels amazing. But when you don't, you just seem normal." He paused. "If you tell me what it is, I'll just turn around and go back to Hogwarts," he offered.

She considered him for a moment. "I'm not going to tell you," she said.

"But-" he began.

"I can show you if you want."

He stopped trying to speak. "Ok," he said, sounding uncertain.

They started off down the alley. "This way."

He followed, wondering if he had just made a huge mistake.


	6. Incredible

She led him into a club a few blocks down. He couldn't help thinking the people around looked the dodgy sort. Inside, the place had shit lighting. Dark, except for a load of flashing lights. James detested the music. It sounded strange and repetitive, and led to some of the worst dancing he had ever seen.

"Wait here," she said. Hunter went over to speak to a man in the corner. James watched as they walked outside.

When she came back in, she walked straight up to the bar. She spoke to the women behind it, handed over some muggle money, and received a pair of plastic bottles in return. She walked back over to James.

"Here," she said, handing him one of the bottles.

He looked at it. It felt like basic plastic and contained a clear liquid. "Is this some kind of muggle alcohol?" he asked.

She stared at him for a moment. "It's water," she said, uncapping her bottle and drinking some.

He followed suit. "How does water explain your symptoms?" he asked, earning a laugh.

"It doesn't," she said. "This does." She handed him a small white pill. "It's good," she said. "I checked it out in back."

"What is it?" he asked.

"Your answer," she said. "If you want to know," she added with a shrug, "take it."

He held up the pill, examining it in the poor light.

"Jesus," she cursed, grabbing the tab and popping it in her mouth. Then she pulled him down and kissed him. He felt her push the pill into his mouth before she pulled away. "Drink," she said, when he swallowed and made a bitter face.

"Is it safe?" he asked.

"The water?" she responded, starting to walk away. "Yeah, you're good. It's bottled," she called over her shoulder.

"I meant the pill."

She shrugged. "It probably won't kill you. And if it goes bad, I can take you to the hospital."

He didn't find her answer particularly comforting.

* * *

James stood in his little corner, sipping on his water and wondering what the hell she'd given him. He watched her chat with a blonde girl, and then the pair moved onto the floor. They danced _very_ close together, with a lot of rubbing and touching. He wondered if she was already feeling the effects of the pill. He wasn't. Then again, he hadn't seen her take one. Maybe she had before they got here.

He sipped his water, eying the idiots that stood around watching her. Did she really come to places like this alone? And when she was acting the way she did with him?

He polished off his water and went to speak to the woman behind the bar. "Can I get another one of these?" he asked.

"Sure," she said, pulling one out and putting it in front of him. "Three pounds."

He blinked. He hadn't thought that through all the way. He patted his pockets, grateful he had worn clothes the muggles wouldn't find strange. "One second," he said.

He walked over to Hunter, tapping her on the shoulder. "Hey, listen," he began, ready to ask to borrow a few pounds.

He couldn't hear her, but he thought she might have made a sort of moaning noise. He had a bad feeling this night wouldn't end well.

"I'd rather dance," he heard her say. She pulled him toward her and began dancing with him, against him.

"Umm . . ." he said. "I was just . . ."

He broke off when the blonde started dancing with her too. Maybe he didn't really need the water after all.

He started noticing the lights. He didn't know what he'd been complaining about before. They were lovely. Fantastic.

He felt her grind against him, ran his hands up her sides. Merlin, he thought. He could see how the desk would have felt so good to her, and the wall, and . . . anything. Everything.

He felt the beat of the music sink into him. Knew that the dancing wasn't strange. It was spectacular. Perfect. Incredible.

He turned, saw the blonde. She shifted closer and found his mouth with hers. He had never felt anything like it.

He pulled away. If kissing the blonde felt like that, kissing Hunter would be ecstasy.

* * *

Somewhere along the way, Hunter told him they needed to go. She dragged him out the door, and he decided he didn't mind so much when he tripped, lost his balance, and ended up pressed against the wall of the building in front of him. Pressed against Hunter, who was pressed against the building.

It turned out kissing her was better than kissing the blonde.

* * *

It took them ages to get home. There was the holdup in the alley, and then the detour onto the floor of the building with the trap door. The passageway took them ages, because they both kept getting distracted by the feel of the wall, and then the feel of each other.

They never got passed the room of requirement. He dragged her to the floor almost the moment they entered.

* * *

_A/N: Ummm . . . so, who saw that coming a mile away? Also, just as a note, definitely not trying to encourage drug use. It's all addictive and there are, you know, health issues associated with it. _


	7. The Morning After

He woke the next day with a splitting headache, feeling absolutely exhausted. Experimentally, he tried to move his jaw. Merlin, it ached. He shifted and realized something was on top of him. Slowly, he opened his eyes. Hunter was sprawled across him, naked as the day.

_You knew you weren't in good shape_, he thought, _when someone that looked like her could be laying on top of you naked and not cause a physical reaction._

He combed his hand through her hair, letting the strands slide through his fingers. He really had never seen anything like it. It had so many colors, shifting and mixing and melding. He wondered if she dyed it to look like that. She would have had to have started before Hogwarts, though, since he remembered noticing her hair when she first started. Then he had mocked her for it. _Stupid, stupid little boy_, he thought.

She shifted, groaning and opening her eyes.

"Hey," he said.

She blinked several times, slowly. "How you feeling?"

"Horrible," he said. "You?"

She nodded slightly. "The come down can be pretty bad. And I don't think either of us drank near enough water."

She moved as though to rise, and he summoned all his strength to roll over, pinning her.

"I'm not in the mood," she said, pushing at him.

He looked down at her. "But what if I never get you in this position again?" he asked.

She shrugged. "You've been pretty persistent so far. I'm sure you'll manage."

He nodded. Then he lowered himself, resting his head on her chest. "How do I make the headache go away?" he asked in a pitiful voice. "And I feel like my whole body has been pummeled and twisted into knots, and maybe run over by something large."

She didn't say anything for a moment. "You're heavier than you look, you know," she responded finally.

"Right," he said, rolling off of her.

She stretched and sat up. "Drink lots of water," she said. "It's better if you do it preemptively, but it'll help now anyway."

"Why are you so keen on water?" he asked.

She shrugged. "You're dehydrated. That's why you feel like complete shite. That, and you punished a lot of muscles you don't normally use last night." She combed her fingers through her hair. "You can't do anything about the muscles but give them time to recover. Dehydration is solved by drinking more water." She looked around. "Where the fuck are my clothes?"

He surveyed the room as well. "I think we might have left a trail of them," he said. "Mine too, it seems."

She nodded. Rising to her feet, she walked over to some doors he hadn't noticed before. She opened them, and James saw a set of shelves. The top shelves held clothes. On the bottoms shelf were several crates of water bottles.

He rose and walked over to her. He watched as she picked out everything she needed.

"There's some for you too," she said with a nod of her head.

He looked in and found that there were indeed clothes that would fit him. "You do this with a lot of blokes?" he asked.

"Didn't your dad practically invent this room?" she asked, irritated. "It's the Room of Requirement, you arse. It supplies what you need."

James shook his head. "It can't supply food or water," he said, pointing to the crates.

"No," she responded. "I brought those. I've no idea where they go when the room becomes something else, but they're always here when it's in this form."

He nodded. "Thanks," he said, taking one.

"You'll probably want a lot more than that," she suggested.

He shrugged. "I can replenish it," he said. "As long as I don't drink every last drop."

He watched her pull on some jeans, tug on a shirt, and drag her hair up into a pony tail.

"So, are you going to tell me what it was now?" he asked.

She glanced at him. "What what was?"

"The pill," he answered, frustrated.

"Oh, yeah," she said, unconcerned. "It was E. Ecstasy," she explained at his blank look. "It's a muggle drug. You've a pretty good idea of the effects now."

He blinked. "I thought drugs were illegal."

"They are. Why do you think I wanted to show instead of tell?" she asked. "You can't exactly get me in trouble without also fucking yourself."

"Yeah, but . . . shouldn't you have, you know, made sure I was ok with the idea of using something like that?"

"Shouldn't you have made sure I was ok with you following me around in your little cloak," she responded icily.

"That's completely different."

"Right," she said. "You're a creepy stalker, and I'm just a girl trying to have a good time. It wasn't like a forced you to try it."

He gave her a look.

"You didn't have to kiss me," she said with a wicked smile. "_And_ you could have spit it out."

He couldn't really argue with that.


	8. Claws

He saw her walking away from the charms corridor about a week later. Away was a good thing. It probably meant she didn't have class. Deciding he didn't care that much about today's lesson after all, he turned quickly to follow her.

He caught up with her a few minutes after the hour chimed. All the students had already gone to class, or were up in their common room studying.

"Hey," he said, catching her wrist. She came around swinging and he pushed her up against the wall, pinning her and trying to avoid letting her injure any of his sensitive areas. "You always talk with your fists?" he asked.

"Only when it's with arseholes who can't take a hint," she returned.

He smiled. "I think I take hints pretty well," he said. "And I feel like," he moved his mouth down beside her ear, "anytime someone calls you a god over and over-"

"I didn't call you a god, you wanker," she snapped.

He chuckled. "Bet?"

"I'm not on anything at the moment, Potter," she said. "I think you'll find your . . . prowess diminished without enhancements."

"We'll see," he said, leaning down to kiss her. He didn't even mind that much when she bit him. He still won in the end.

* * *

It went on like that for weeks, months even. He'd use the map to find her when she was alone, then he'd press the right buttons.

He glanced down at the map in question. She wasn't alone at the moment. Fucking Scorpius Malfoy, he thought. Always in the way.

"Oi! Potter," Bell called. "You up for some fun?"

James shrugged. "You have anything particular in mind?" he asked.

Bell looked unsure, glancing over at Thomas. "Dunno, mate. We could play some exploding snap," he said.

"Nah," James responded, grinning. "I've a better idea. You gents in the mood for a good prank, by any chance?"

* * *

They waited until he left the great hall after dinner. Hunter had already gone up and disappeared off the map, so they didn't have any interference to worry about.

"Oi! Malfoy," James called.

The blond boy ignored him, continuing to walk. He did pick up his pace, though.

"Coward's already running," James said under his breath to Bell, who nodded.

"That's Slytherins for you," Bell said. "They're brave as can be when your back is turned, but face them head on and they piss themselves."

"Oi!" James called again. "Malfoy. When your betters speak to you, you turn around and face them, yeah?" he yelled.

Malfoy kept walking, staring straight ahead. He increased his pace more, obviously trying to get to safe terrain before they had a chance to attack.

James petrified him nonverbally. Malfoy had pretty good reflexes if you gave him half a chance. They went to work quickly. When they finished, the left him in the Defense Against the Dark Arts classroom, enjoying the symbolism.

By the time they left, Malfoy lay naked, wrapped head to toe in what amounted to muggle saran wrap. Their spells had done him up so tightly he couldn't move.

"Do you think we should really leave him there?" Thomas asked, glancing back at the classroom.

"Sure," James said, unconcerned. "He's a Slytherin, isn't he? He'll probably figure out how to slither his way back up to his common room like the snake he is. And anyway, if he doesn't, we left holes so he could breathe."

Bell slapped Thomas on the back. "It's not as though we actually hurt him," he said.

James nodded. When the other two went back to the common room, James made an excuse and went off to look at his map. He wondered if he should try to stick around long enough to catch Hunter on her way back into the castle.

* * *

James walked to class the next morning, having totally forgotten the events of the previous night. He looked up in bafflement at the crowd around the Defense classroom.

And then he smiled, remembering.

"What's going on?" he asked Hugo, who stood waiting to get into his first hour class.

Hugo glanced over at him. "They found Scorpius Malfoy, wrapped up in some kind of plastic. They think he's been there all night," he said.

"Really?" James grinned. "Serves him right, I guess."

He straightened his face immediately when the professor brought Malfoy out, dressed in hastily transfigured clothes.

"Right, well, I'd best be off to class," James said, giving his little cousin a wave. He didn't miss the considering look Hugo gave him in return. At least he could count on his family members not to rat him out, even if they didn't seem to understand that Slytherins deserved whatever they got.

* * *

He caught up with her later that afternoon, pulling her into the passageway behind Gregory the Smarmy and getting her claws down his face in response.

"Don't. Touch. Me." She spit at him.

He covered his face with his hand. "Bloody hell. What's wrong with you?"

"Other than the fact that you think you can torment my best friend and then shag me in the same day," she snarled.

He took his hand away from his face, noting the blood that colored it. "It was a laugh." He hastily erected a shield charm when she moved to curse him. "Fuck me, it's not as though I actually hurt him," he shouted. "Which is more than can be said for you," he added, gingerly touching the scrapes slashing across his face.

"Touch me again," she said, backing toward the exit, "and I'll set you on fire." She turned on her heel and walked out.


	9. Tradition

There had to be something wrong with him that he couldn't get her off his mind. She had actually cut him. If he were a muggle, he'd have probably needed their mad stitches. As it was, it took him ages to heal them with magic. And still he wanted her. If he'd known she'd make such a big deal of it, he'd never have pulled the damn prank in the first place. Which was a bigger concession than she had any right to expect of him.

He thought if he gave her time, she'd get over it. He even left Malfoy alone. He thought things would get better, be different. But they weren't. She continued ignoring him. She refused to write back when he tried sending her messages. She avoided him at all costs. He went back to haunting the hallways at night.

He thought he would at least be able to catch her coming or going into the city, now that he knew she used the Room of Requirement to do it. But she had mastered the art of timing her departures to miss him. He would look for her at dinner and realize she was already gone. Or she would leave while he was in quidditch practice.

If it went on much longer, he thought he might have to take a trip into London. Of course, he didn't know that he could pick out the right passageway, even if he could get back in to the same version of the Room of Requirement. He had tried, but he couldn't be sure it was hers. Maybe it altered slightly if he asked for the wrong thing. Maybe his best guess at the tunnel would take him to France.

At the moment, he sat outside the room, waiting patiently for her to come back. He had given up last night at 4:00 am. Tonight he had gone to sleep right after dinner and woken up at 3:00 am, hoping she would still be gone. He wondered if she had started spending the night there. He tried not to wonder who she spent the night with.

3:12. He pulled a rubber ball out of his pocket. He had gotten it years ago, while visiting his muggle cousins. He didn't like the cousins all that much, but the ball he kept.

3:26. He threw the ball against the wall, catching it as it rebounded. Throw, catch. Throw, catch.

3:47. He began trying to do triple rebounds. Throw against the facing wall, bounce off the wall behind him, bounce off the wall in front. Go get the ball from whatever mad place it ended up.

4:09. He'd gotten up to twelve ricochets.

4:32. Throw the ball down the hall, summon it back. Throw the ball down the hall, summon it back.

5:01. He lay on the floor, trying to balance the ball on his nose.

5:43. He balanced the ball on the back of his hand, letting it roll up to his wrist and then back down to his fingers.

6:03. She walked out of the room.

"Fuck," she said, seeing him sitting against the wall. She looked terrible.

He rose and put the bouncy ball back in his pocket. "You stay the night then?" he asked.

"How is that any of your business?" she responded, attempting to get past him.

He walked toward her, backing her up. "I'm just asking," he said. When she tried to go for her wand, he caught her wrists and pinned her against the wall – careful to watch out for her knee.

"Is this how you deal with every girl you shag on a casual basis?" she asked.

He looked her up and down. "Somehow I don't think shagging you is ever casual," he said.

"I'm not in the mood to fuck," she declared. "Certainly not you."

He shifted, holding both her wrists in his left hand, freeing up his right. "I bet," he said. "You look like how I felt the next morning."

She only glared at him.

"Do you do this every night, then?" he asked. "Somehow I don't think that's healthy."

"Somehow I don't think it's any of your fucking business."

He nodded. "I suppose you're right," he said. "You let me know if you're ever in the mood to fuck," he added, releasing her wrists and backing quickly out of her immediate range.

She walked away with responding. Well, not in words anyway. He wasn't at all surprised by the hand gesture she gave him as she left. By now, he practically considered it a tradition.


	10. Never

He felt her nails bite into his back, heard her scream his name and –

Woke up.

Shit, he thought, scrubbing his hands over his face. He couldn't go on like this. Term would end in a week, and he didn't think he could survive if he didn't shag her at least once more before the summer.

He would go to the club tonight. There was nothing else for it.

* * *

As he climbed out of the passageway, he felt a strange sense of accomplishment. It had taken him at least twice as long as it should have – what with passing the ladder up by a mile, and then taking several wrong ones – but he had gotten there. He looked around the old cellar, sure he had the right one this time.

He thought back in his memory, recalled the turns they took to get to the club. He found it with ease. At least one part of the trip hadn't been a giant pain in the arse.

* * *

He walked through the door, waiting for his eyes to adjust to the light. He scanned the crowd. When he didn't spot her right away, he began making a circuit.

After an hour, he had to acknowledge that she wasn't there. He glanced over at the bar. Deciding he had no better options, he walked over to it.

"Hey," he said. "I'm supposed to meet someone here. A girl, about this tall. Hair like no one else. Tons of colors in it, from blonde to black. Yellow eyes."

The bartender nodded. "I know who you mean, but you must have the wrong place," she said. "Haven't seen her in here in months."

"You know where else she might be?" he asked. "I must have misunderstood where we were meeting," he lied easily.

The woman shook her head. "Sorry," she shrugged. "Want anything?"

"Sure," he said, resigning himself to his failure. "Whatever you'd recommend."

He thought about going out to look for her, but he had a vague idea how big London was and how many places she could be. At the very least, he knew she used to like this place. Maybe she'd get nostalgic and come back.

Deciding he had no reason to hold back, James got well and truly plastered.

She never came.

* * *

_A/N Shortest chapter ever, right? I thought about adding it on to the last one, but decided I liked it better on it's own. The next one is longer, I promise._


	11. Considering It

James sat in Ron and Hermione's living room watching Albus and Rose play Lily and Hugo at cards. He flipped through a quidditch magazine, idly listening to his parents chat with his aunt and uncle.

"Can't even believe you're considering it," Ron was saying.

"Ron," Hermione chastised.

"I'm only saying, I can't think of any reason good enough to let a Malfoy into your house," Ron continued.

James continued staring at his magazine, but focused all of his attention on the conversation they were having. He could see his dad shrug out of the corner of his eye.

"They agreed to do it, but only on the condition we protect his son," Harry said.

Ron held his arms wide. "There's an actual branch of the auror department for that," he said. "Explain that you'll personally ensure he's handed over to the best protective custody in the world." Ron mimed dusting off his hands. "Case closed."

Harry shook his head, leaning back in his chair. "I pointed that out. He said he wants me protecting him _personally_. No substitutes."

Ron turned to Ginny. "You can't tell me you'd be ok with a Malfoy in your house. It would take him what, ten minutes to brand your kids blood traitors and start going on about our . . . finances."

"From what I understand," Ginny said, glancing at Harry. "The plan only works if they agree. I think our kids would survive a few insults. Not," she continued, when Ron began spluttering, "that we'll tolerate him insulting our kids. I'm just saying, the risk of that isn't worth razing the whole mission."

"Not to mention," Harry said, "that we don't know anything about his son. We can't exactly blame him for the way Draco behaved in school."

Ron gave Harry an angry look. "Anyone that calls my wife a . . . a . . . you-know-what," Ron began.

"Draco said that. Not Scorpius," Harry pointed out.

Ron snorted. "And you're catering to _Draco's_ every whim. Are you going to give him little chocolates and roses as well?"

"I can understand his concern," Harry said with a sigh. "If I was agreeing to do something like this – if Ginny _and_ I were agreeing to do something like this – I would certainly want to make absolutely sure my kids were safe. How can I blame him for doing the same?"

"He can make sure their safe," Ron grumbled. "Like I said, there's a _whole_ branch of the auror department set up for that exact purpose."

Harry glanced over at the kids. James casually turned the page of his magazine, pretending he hadn't heard a word. "Would you trust Rose and Hugo to strangers?" he asked.

"I wouldn't send them to someone I spent seven years trying to torment," Ron snapped. "Someone I'd tried to get killed."

"Ron," Hermione broke in. "You have to understand, Draco's not stupid."

Ron gave her a dirty look.

"I mean it. He may have been an evil little monster, but he wasn't dim. I'm sure he noticed that Harry managed to survive _everything_. Malfoy was terrified of Voldemort, and Harry escaped him how many times?" She patted Ron's hand. "I can understand why he wouldn't trust his son's life into anyone else's hands."

"Well, he's not coming around here, is all I can say," Ron declared, earning a long suffering look from Hermione.

"So we'll just forgo any contact with Harry and Ginny for the summer, shall we?" she asked in a prim voice.

"I didn't say that. I said I don't want to see Malfoy's spawn. Doesn't mean I've got anything against Harry and Ginny and the kids," Ron corrected.

"And how," Ginny asked, "do you propose to spend any time with us if you refuse to go anywhere near our houseguest?"

_Bloody hell_, James thought. Malfoy was going to stay with them for the entire summer. This year was just getting worse and worse.

"Fine," Ron barked. "But if he says one word to my kids . . ."

Harry glanced over at the five of them again. "We should talk to the kids," he said in an undertone. "See how they feel about it."

Ginny nodded.

"They'll hate it," Ron said. "I'd wager a galleon."

Harry gave him a look.

"Hey kids," Ron called. "How would you feel about Malfoy coming to live with you for the summer?"

"Ron," Hermione chastised. "I think Harry and Ginny meant to do that later."

"What?" Ron asked, looking irritated. "It pertains to our kids also. They practically live in each other's pockets all summer. All year, probably," he muttered.

"Scorpius Malfoy?" Rose asked, baffled.

"Yeah," Harry said. "Though, it would be our house he'd be living in."

James glanced over to see Albus' mouth hanging open. "Are you serious?" his brother asked.

"Disgusting, yeah?" Ron agreed.

Albus shook his head. He turned to look at James. "I'm just wondering how long it'll take the two of them to burn down the house," he said, indicating James with a jerk of his head. Rose snorted, and Hugo and Lily giggled.

"You two don't get along?" Ginny asked.

"Of course they don't," Ron interrupted.

James shrugged. "I wouldn't say I think much of him." He cut his eyes to his brother. "But I wouldn't say I'll be starting any fires either," he said, going back to his magazine.

Harry nodded. "I know it won't be pleasant," he said. "But I'm hoping if we can all be mature . . ." he trailed off, sighing.

"What I don't understand is why he wants Scorpius to bring a friend," Ginny said.

"What?" Ron exclaimed. "It's not enough he wants you to take in his son," he hollered. "He also wants you to entertain his son's friends."

Harry shrugged. "I got this impression he stays with them over the summer. And," he made a face, "knowing what it's like to count on having friends to stay with for the holidays, I can't really hold it against them."

"Who's the friend?" Albus asked. James was grateful. He couldn't think of any male friends Malfoy might have, but he didn't want to acknowledge how much he'd learned about Malfoy from his interest in Hunter.

Harry scratched his head. "Kendall? Kimball? Something like –"

James's head snapped up. "Hunter?" He and Rose exclaimed in unison.

"Yeah," Harry said, giving them an interested look. "Is it a problem?"

Rose laughed. "Oh, I don't know if it's a problem," she said. "More . . ." she tilted her head. "James' chickens coming home to roost."

"What's that supposed to mean?" James asked.

Rose gave him a disapproving look.

"What _is_ that supposed to mean?" Ginny asked.

Rose shrugged. "Just that I don't think James and _Malfoy_ will be your problem," she said.

James scrubbed his fingers through his hair. "It's not a problem," he said. "Why would you think it's a problem?"

Albus laughed. "Only cause she loathes you."

"With good reason," Rose added under hear breath. At least, James hoped his parents had missed it.

"Wait, _she_?" Ginny cut in.

Albus nodded. "For the record, I am completely fine with Kimball Hunter coming to stay with us," he said.

James glared at him.

Ginny turned to Harry. "I think we may need to discuss whether it's a good idea for us to have a girl their age staying in the house."

"Oh, I wouldn't worry about that," Albus said. "I wouldn't try anything."

Rose laughed. "I heard Kenton Peakes almost lost a testicle. Of course, that was right after . . ."  
she trailed off, glancing at James.

"She was in a pretty bad mood for a while," Albus explained, obviously trying very hard not to look at James or mention the bathroom incident. "Anyway," he shrugged. "She's not what I'd call . . . approachable."

Ron was staring very hard at Rose. He seemed to be reacting to her use of the word "testicle." James wondered if Ron had thought her ignorant of their existence.

"And you're problem with her is . . ." Harry directed the question to James.

He shrugged.

"He doesn't like Slytherins," Rose answered.

"It's not like she's particularly nice to me, either," James grumbled.

Rose gave him scornful look.

"What it comes down to," Harry broke in. "Is whether or not we have a valid, undeniable, unalterable reason to say no. Because if not, I think we have to agree."

No one offered any reasons against.

"Alright," Harry said. "I'll speak with them tomorrow. I think they'll be in the house by the end of the week."

* * *

_A/N I did promise to bring them all into it. Though, I might change my mind about Scorpius and Rose as a pairing. I kind of like the idea of Scorpius and Lily. Hmmm . . . _


	12. The Alternative

The bedding situation turned out to be a bit of a problem. Harry had intended to simply add an extra bed to the guest room. Now that he knew Hunter was a girl, he didn't seem to think it was appropriate to put her and Scorpius in the same room. James couldn't agree more.

He sat at the kitchen table, listening to them discuss the situation.

"And we obviously can't put Scorpius in with either of our boys," Harry said.

Ginny gave him a look. "What happened to not blaming him for what Draco did in school?"

"I'm not blaming him for that. But there's obviously already some bad blood. I think we put him in the guest room and her in with Lily," he said.

"Of course, since Lily doesn't have any testicles to lose," Ginny responded.

Harry smiled slightly. "There is that. And Rose didn't seem to have a problem with her. I'm betting she's just a bit aggressive in her style of rejection."

Ginny laughed. "I suppose we can hope," she said.

"And if we see any indication she isn't treating Lily well, we'll deal with it. We can always change the sleeping arrangements later. Or, for that matter, back out altogether if the need arises."

"I don't think it will come to that," Ginny said. "But I can't help being worried about this arrangement."

* * *

James sat in the living room with his family, waiting for the Malfoys to arrive. Waiting for Hunter to arrive.

He tried not to look too concerned. He tossed a quaffle around with Albus and Lily, vaguely surprised his mother didn't tell them to stop or take the ball outside. He supposed she had other things on her mind.

At exactly 8:00, they arrived. He guessed he shouldn't be surprised that the Malfoys were neither late nor early. Of course they would appear right on time.

James heard the doorbell ring. Harry went to get it.

"Hi, come in," Harry was saying.

James watched them walk into the living room. Malfoy's dad stood quite tall, with pale blond hair. He looked supremely unhappy with the situation. Malfoy's mum appeared more neutral. She had her arm around her son's shoulder. Hunter looked absolutely furious. James tried not to stare at her too much.

At his mum's motion, James rose to shake hands.

"Hi," she was saying, offering her hand to Malfoy's mum. "I'm Ginny. I don't think we've met."

"Adelaide," the woman said with a polite smile. "These must be your children," she added, looking at James, Albus, and Lily.

Ginny nodded, introducing each of them. Malfoy's mum shook their hands, his dad nodded to each of them.

"Well," Ginny said. "I can show you all where Scorpius and Kimball will be sleeping."

The Malfoys seemed to approve, following Ginny upstairs. James wished Hunter had gotten her own room. Of course, if James had had to share with Scorpius, it may have been a moot point.

"What do you think?" Albus asked, the moment they left the room.

James shrugged. "About what?"

"About this. About them staying here."

"It's just a summer," James replied philosophically. A summer where he might actually have a chance to shag the hottest girl he had ever met. Bloody hell. He needed to find a way to get her in his own bed.

* * *

They came back downstairs not long after. Ginny excused herself and went to sit with the rest of the family while the Malfoys said goodbye. James watched them surreptitiously as he fiddled with the quaffle.

"It won't be that bad," Adelaide was saying, kissing Malfoy and then Hunter on the forehead. James disliked her for that statement alone. "Try to keep it in perspective," she added.

"I still don't see why –" Hunter began, and James felt his ears perk up.

"Because we've asked you to, and if they don't protect you, we'll turn right around and come back, regardless of the consequences," Draco Malfoy said. "And, Kim," he added in a stern voice. "If you aren't _here _for them to protect, we'll still come back. Good intentions are worthless."

Scorpius and his mum both gave the man an aggravated look.

"I mean it," he said. "It doesn't matter how good Potter's intentions are if you aren't here for him to protect. And it doesn't matter how good your intentions are if he doesn't protect you while you're here. You both need to just . . . do what's required of you."

James could see Hunter clench her teeth.

"Kimball," Draco said, lifting her chin with a finger.

She nodded in a jerky motion. "Yeah, yeah. I'll stick around. I still think the whole thing's stupid though."

Draco smiled. "I know," he said.

"Try to make the best of it," Adelaide said, kissing Hunter on the cheek. She turned to give her son a hug.

"Try to _behave_," Draco added. Hunter didn't nod this time, and the elder Malfoy looked resigned. He hugged his son.

Then Scorpius and Hunter walked the Malfoys to the door and waved as they left the house. James saw Hunter say something to Scorpius before they both turned around and walked into the living room.

"Well," Ginny said. "Why don't you two come have a seat? We can get to know each other a bit."

Hunter stared at her emotionlessly. Scorpius glanced sideways at Hunter and then moved further into the room, taking a seat in one of the chairs. Hunter sat perched on the arm of it, scowling.

"You're both in Albus' year, right?" Harry said.

"Yeah," Scorpius responded quietly. Hunter said nothing.

Harry glanced at Ginny, who smiled winningly. "And do either of you play quidditch then?" she asked.

Scorpius shook his head. Hunter scowled at the room in general.

"You must have things you like to do in your free time," Harry said, trying to drag a conversation out of them.

Scorpius shrugged. "I read a lot," he said.

James snorted.

"Just because you haven't sorted out how letters fit together to make words yet, Potter," Hunter began. James saw Scorpius put his hand on her arm and shake his head slightly. She subsided with ill grace.

"I don't think knowing how to read means I have to be a creepy, sneaking Slytherin, who-" James started.

"James," his mother broke in. "Let's try to be civil please. We're all going to be spending an entire summer together."

"Honestly, if living here is the alternative, I'm not sure death is such a bad option," Hunter said, rising. She dragged Scorpius out of his chair and up the stairs.

James glanced at his family. Clearly none of them had expected quite such an exit. Of course, she hadn't flipped anyone off, so for Hunter it was practically cordial.


	13. Better and Worse

They all sat around the breakfast table, finishing up the last of the meal. James always liked it best when Harry cooked breakfast. He tended to go all out.

Of course, James liked it better when Scorpius and Hunter weren't huddled together, whispering their little secrets.

Since the first night, Hunter seldom spoke above a whisper. And those were always directed at Scorpius.

James didn't like it at all. He wondered how to Malfoys had managed to force her to come here, and how Scorpius kept her in line.

Ginny walked in the room, smiling brightly. "I just finished speaking with Hermione. They've invited us over to their house tonight for dinner," she said.

Albus and Lily high-fived. James looked at Hunter for a response. He thought she may have rolled her eyes, but she said nothing. Scorpius did the same.

"Do you know Rose Weasley?" Harry asked, making an effort to include the two guests.

Scorpius nodded. "Yeah," he said. "She's one of the best in our year." Hunter merely shrugged.

James noticed that his parents seemed to approve of Scorpius' response. He didn't like that at all. If they were going to approve of someone, it should be Hunter. Not that he knew of any particular traits – aside from shagging well – that she had to recommend her. Still, she was a damn sight better than Malfoy.

* * *

"Alright," Ginny said, as they stood around the fireplace, ready to floo over to their cousins' house. "You first, James."

"Aw . . . come on, Mum. Please can I go first," Albus pleaded. James guessed he wanted to talk to Rose before Hunter and Malfoy came through.

"Or me," Lily offered cheerfully.

James shrugged. "They can go first," he said in a bored voice.

"Alright," Ginny said. "Albus, then Lily, then James."

Albus and Lily high fived. Then Albus threw in his floo powder, stepped into the fire, and called out "Ron and Hermione's house." Lily followed quickly on his heels.

James glanced at his parents.

"Go on," Harry said, waving James forward. He tossed a quick look at Hunter, wondering what his parents wanted to speak to them about, and then did as he was told.

He walked out of the fire at Ron and Hermione's, casually dusting himself off. Sure enough, Albus and Rose were huddled together. Lily and Hugo seemed to be equally engrossed in gossip.

"James," Hermione said, giving him a hug. He returned it genuinely. Hermione had always been one of his favorite people.

James turned to Ron, giving him a quick hug as well.

"So, how bad is it?" Ron asked bracingly.

"Ron," Hermione chastised.

"What?" Ron responded. "Only, I feel like we're inviting the enemy into our home. Not a good idea at all."

James shrugged. "Mostly they ignore us," he said. Hermione cast him a concerned glance. Apparently he hadn't quite kept the irritation out of his voice.

James looked over as Scorpius emerged from the fire. He nodded to Ron and Hermione. "Thanks for having us," he said in a serious voice. James tried not to snort. _Bootlicker,_ James thought, taking a seat and picking up a book to skim.

"Of course," Hermione was saying. Her cheerful tone fell a bit flat with Ron glowering next to her. "Come in," she said. "Sit down. Make yourself at home."

"Though we aren't your servants, mind," Ron added in a gruff voice. "We do things for ourselves here."

Scorpius nodded, saying nothing.

James turned back to the fire as Hunter came through. She stepped out with a lithe move and brushed dust off her clothes.

"Hi, you must be Kimball," Hermione said, reaching out a hand to shake. Hunter looked at it for a long moment, and James felt his ire rise. Finally, she took it, shaking quickly and then moving off to sit by Scorpius, who immediately began whispering to her.

"Friendly one that," Ron said, glaring at her. "Bet she fits in right well with Malfoy's lot."

"Ron," Hermione admonished. "Please just _try_ to give them a chance."

"We did," he returned. "She looked at your hand as though it were something filthy. Probably afraid she'd dirty her blood shaking it," he added, not bothering to keep his voice down.

Ginny came through next, embracing both her brother and her sister-in-law. "Thanks for having us," she said, quickly surveying the room.

"We're already regretting _that_ decision," Ron responded. Ginny raised her eyebrows at him.

Hermione sighed. "I have a feeling it's going to be a long night," she said.

Harry stepped out of the fireplace then, exchanging hugs with Ron and Hermione. "How've you been, Hermione," he said. "I feel like I haven't seen you in ages."

Hermione smiled. "It does seem that way, doesn't it. It's been mad at St. Mungo's. Sometimes I think children don't even bother to follow the strictures about underage magic," she said.

Ron laughed. "All the rule breaking she did at Hogwarts," he said to Harry, "and she can't fathom someone doing a bit of magic over the summer." He shook his head.

"So," Hermione said, dropping her voice. "How has it been?" she asked, indicating Hunter and Malfoy.

Harry and Ginny exchanged a look. "Better and worse than I thought it would be," Ginny said after a moment. Harry nodded.

"You mean they haven't tried to kill you yet, but they are still little monsters?" Ron asked. Hermione elbowed him. "What?" he said.

"No," Harry responded. "Scorpius is actually better than we were expecting," he said. James clenched his fists. "He's polite. Doesn't seem to have a problem with us at all."

"He's _very_ quiet," Ginny added.

"Probably plotting how best to kill everyone," Ron said, eyeing the blond boy. James remembered why he loved his uncle.

Harry shook his head. "No, it seems pretty genuine. He even said Rose was one of the best in the year," he added significantly. "Can you picture Malfoy admitting that about Hermione?"

"Depends. Did it sound like he was furious to have been beaten by someone of _lower birth_?" Ron asked, irritated.

"No," Ginny said. "He just said it like it was fact."

Hermione looked pleased. She glanced over at her daughter. "Well," she said. "She is quite talented."

Harry laughed. "No one denies that."

"So how is it worse than you expected?" Ron asked, obviously unwilling to accept that the two Slytherins were good houseguests.

Harry shrugged. "Kimball, his friend. She's . . ."

"Horrible," Ginny offered with a shrug. James glared at Malfoy again. Of course he would make himself look good by making Hunter look bad.

Harry shook his head. "I dunno," he said. "I wouldn't go that far. I'd just say she's a bit . . . hard. And she _really_ doesn't like any of us." Harry glanced over at James, who pretended to be reading his book. "Especially James," he said.

Ginny nodded. "Lily – who's sharing a room with her – says she's alright. Apparently she doesn't talk much, but she isn't rude to her or anything." She sighed. "So that's something."

"I still don't understand why you got stuck with the spare," Ron grumbled.

Harry shrugged. "Neither do we. She's not what I'd call open."

Ginny rolled her eyes. "Except to make it clear that she'd much rather be anywhere but near us."

"Yeah," Harry said. "It's fairly obvious she doesn't like the arrangement anymore than we do." He shook his head. "I wish Malfoy had told us why they wanted her to say as well."

"Hey, mum," Hugo called from across the room. "When are we gonna eat?"

Hermione sighed. "I suppose that's my cue to run back to the kitchen," she said.

"Is there anything we can help with?" Ginny offered.

Ron snorted. "Harry, maybe," he said, getting an annoyed look from Hermione. "She's taken to cooking like a muggle," he explained. "Says it's 'more of a challenge.' Madness, I say."

Ginny laughed. "You're just sore because you remember all those years of having to do your chores without magic."

"And can't imagine why any sane person would volunteer to do anything that way," Ron agreed.

Harry grinned. "Well," he said, nodding to Hermione. "I definitely have some experience at cooking in the muggle fashion. What can I do to help?"

"At the moment," Hermione thought it over, "I think you three would be best used setting up the back garden," she decided. "I've decided to barbeque chicken tonight."

"Excellent," Harry said. "We'll get the kids to help."


	14. Scorpius

It didn't take them long to set up the back garden. And James was not at all surprised to see how the seating arrangements turned out. He sat with his two siblings and two cousins, chatting about school. Hunter and Malfoy sat off by themselves, speaking quietly. And the four adults huddled around the barbeque.

"So," Rose began. "How has it been so far?" she asked James, reminding him startlingly of her mother.

James shrugged. "Fine," he said.

Albus rolled his eyes. "He hates them," he said. "It's obvious."

"I don't hate them," James responded, thinking he only hated one of them. "I just don't like having Slytherins in the house."

"Yeah," Lily nodded. "They're meant to be kept in the shed," she joked.

Hugo glanced over at the pair in question. "There is a bit of silver lining," he said.

James gave him a bored look. "What's that?"

"She's really quite fit," Hugo responded, indicating Hunter.

Lily shook her head. "I'll never understand how boys can just ignore everything about a girl's personality. As long as she has a good body, then it doesn't matter if she's a complete hag."

"Is she a complete hag?" Hugo asked in surprise.

Lily shrugged. "Not to me. But to James, definitely."

"Has it occurred to you that James may have earned that?" Rose asked in a prim voice.

Albus laughed. "We're sure he did. Doesn't mean it's any more pleasant to be around all the time."

"So you've decided you aren't ok we her staying at your place after all?" Rose asked.

Albus shrugged. "I don't really have much of a choice." He grinned at Hugo. "And she _is_ nice to look at."

"Alright you lot," Ginny called from over by the barbeque. "The food is ready." She conjured a large, round table and placed it in the center of the yard. "Bring your chairs over."

James held back, wanting to pick his seat last. Apparently his parents thought he needed segregation, however, since they made certain to leave a large space for him a good distance from Hunter and Malfoy.

Hugo practically fell over himself to sit next to Hunter, and Ginny took a seat next to Malfoy. James guessed she didn't want him to sit there.

"So," Hermione said, as they all tucked into their food. "Kimball, how long have you and Scorpius been friends."

Hunter shrugged.

Scorpius shot her a sideways glance and then tried what James guessed he meant to be a friendly smile. "Since first year," he said. He added something quietly to Hunter, who glared at him.

"And do you have a favorite subject, Scorpius," Hermione persevered, despite Ron's obvious irritation.

"Muggle Studies," Hunter said with a smirk.

Ron set his fork down with a snap. "Think that's funny, do you?"

"Ron," Hermione warned.

Hunter watched Ron for a moment. "Yeah," she said. "I do."

Scorpius cast her an irritated look. "She doesn't mean it the way you think she does."

"Yeah?" Ron said. "How does she mean it then?"

"Obviously I mean that all muggles and muggleborns should be exterminated," she explained in a bored voice. "They're really a pall on the general wizarding race."

"Kim," Malfoy said, exasperated.

"What? I'm obviously a closet self-loather," she said. "Mr. Weasley here is clearly an expert on all things Slytherin. What should it matter that I'm a muggle-born? If he thinks we're both scum and evil death eaters, then that's obviously the case. Why should we let truth get in the way of a hate-filled lie?"

Ron glared at her. "How else am I supposed to take it when you say his favorite subject is muggle studies?" he said, after a moment.

"I don't know," she said, tilting her head as though considering the matter. "I suppose it _is_ out of the question that I could have meant his favorite subject is muggle studies."

Ron's mouth worked like a fish for a moment, but then Rose intervened. "He doesn't take Muggle Studies," she said. "I'm in that class, and Scorpius definitely isn't."

Hunter glanced at Malfoy, grinning wickedly. "You're right. It's more of an independent study sort of situation. Some might call it a . . . fetish," she decided.

"Jesus Christ, Kim," Malfoy muttered, resting his forehead on his hands.

"See," she laughed. "He even curses like a muggle."

"Fetish?" he said, clearly irritated.

She shrugged. "What else would you call it?"

"Why would I call it anything?" he asked. "There's nothing wrong with liking muggles."

"Well," she said, thinking it over. "Say you knew a muggle – we'll use Emma as an example-"

"Can we not?" he cut in.

"Fine," she said. "We'll call our example Gemma," she decided, earning a groan from Malfoy. "Say our Gemma only dated wizards," she said. "Wouldn't you call that a bit of a wizard fetish?"

"First of all, Emma doesn't know I'm a wizard," he said.

"We were talking about Gemma," Hunter corrected, taking a bite of her food.

"Second," he said. "Fetish implies there's something dirty, and I don't see what's dirty about a wizard dating a muggle."

"There's nothing dirty about someone dating an Asian, but if they _only_ dated Asians, I don't think it would be out of line to call that an Asian fetish."

"Really? You don't? Asian people might disagree with you."

"You take the concept of politically correct too far sometimes, Scor."

"Third," Scorpius said, ignoring her, "way less than one percent of the world's population is made up of witches. Billions of people are muggles. Saying dating muggles is a fetish is like saying having sex is a fetish. It's not. If I only shagged muggles in a vat of butter or something mad like that, I could see it. But that's not the case. I like muggles. I like sex. I don't see why I can't combine the two."

By now, Hunter was doubled up laughing. "I'm sorry," she said, when she managed to gather herself. "I just like getting your back up. 'Oh no you didn't'," she added in a strange tone, shaking her finger at him.

He scrubbed a hand through his hair, glancing around. James watched his face turn red as he realized that they had conducted their entire argument in front of an audience.

"How can you date muggles?" Rose asked. "I mean, I don't mean _how can you_, like how dare you. I just mean, when would you have the chance to meet them?"

Scorpius shrugged. "We usually hang out in London a lot on holidays."

"And Emma's your girlfriend?" Hermione asked, seeming far too pleased with the idea of a Malfoy dating a muggle.

Scorpius looked awkward. "Not really."

Hunter snorted.

"Not at the moment anyway. Dating a muggle sort of means lying a lot, and it turns out girls aren't all that keen on being lied to," he said.

"Nah, you're problem is you date girls that always want to talk about your feelings. A good rule of thumb is, if they ever ask you what you're thinking at that very moment, just randomly, ditch 'em."

Scorpius shook his head. "You'll forgive me if I don't take your advice. You might actually have the worst taste on the planet."

She smiled. "Especially in friends."

James would have liked to have been pleased with her response, but Scorpius didn't seem the least bit bothered.

"How did you learn to pass as a muggle, without taking Muggle Studies?" Rose asked.

Scorpius shrugged. "My mum works a lot with muggles. I've known how to pass as long as I can remember."

"What does your mum do with muggles?" Ginny asked, clearly interested.

"Umm . . ." Scorpius scratched at his neck. "She's an aid worker."

Ron snorted. "Because being a muggle means you need charity?" Ron scoffed.

"In some cases," Scorpius said. "She works a lot with refugees. A lot of muggle wars are actually set off by wizards. Her organization works to alleviate the . . . collateral damage of wizard conflicts."

"You're telling us Draco Malfoy married someone who cares how wizard actions influence muggles? You understand he _was_ a death eater, yeah?" Ron said.

"Ronald," Hermione chastised.

"What? I'm only speaking the truth."

Scorpius moved the food around on his plate. "I think it's easier to be cold-blooded when you don't see the reality of the situation. And I don't believe he would say that having Voldemort in his house, torturing and killing people, was a particularly pleasant experience."

"But he still continued supporting him anyway," Ron said.

"Ron," Ginny cut in. "Scorpius isn't his father. You can't put him on trial for Draco's crimes."

"It's not as though anyone bothered to put _Draco_ on trial for Draco's crimes," Ron responded angrily. "Are you really telling me you're ok with him sitting here defending Draco after his part in Dumbledore's death?" Ron asked, turning to Harry.

Harry thought about it for a moment. "Dumbledore didn't blame Draco. And Malfoy wouldn't have killed Dumbledore."

"Doesn't matter if he did it himself, he still let Death Eaters into Hogwarts," Ron shouted.

"I'm not saying he did a good thing," Harry said. "But I'd rather not be judged by my father's actions, and I don't think it's fair to do that to Scorpius."

"I'm not judging him for what Draco did. I'm judging him for defending what Draco did," Ron returned.

"I'm not defending what he did when he was young," Scorpius said quietly. "I don't think he would either. But who he was at fifteen and who he is now are two very different people."

"Let me guess," Ron responded. "He donates loads of money to your mum's charity."

Scorpius stared at Ron for a moment, shaking his head slightly. "You have all this anger," he said. "All this rage about Voldemort. And I get that. But the truth is, he's dead –"

"The people who supported him aren't," Ron cut in.

"So your response should be to kill them all?" Scorpius asked.

Ron glared at him. "I'm not a bloody Death Eater. But I do think they should come to justice."

"What's justice?" Scorpius asked. "An eye for an eye? So they killed your brother, right?" he asked. "I suppose you could find a Death Eater, kill his brother. But then he'll want justice, and go after another member of your family, and so on and so forth. Where does it end?"

"I think anyone who supported Voldemort should be sitting in a jail cell right now," Ron growled.

Scorpius watched him for a moment. "Do you really think it would be more constructive for my father to be in Azkaban? What good does that do anyone?"

"It's justice," Ron snarled.

"There isn't any justice," Scorpius said. "Have you ever thought about, really thought about, what you would do if your family was threatened? What you would be capable of?"

"I wouldn't be capable of murder," Ron shouted.

"I think you're wrong," Scorpius responded quietly. "I think, more than any other animal on the planet, human beings are capable of extreme depravity. They have a much greater capacity for cruelty than any other species. But they also have compassion, and kindness, and selflessness. And I don't think it's a coin. I don't think it's luck of the draw, whether you turn out good or bad. I think everyone is a little good, and a little bad, and a lot of in between. I think they can be either, and which they are depends on their particular circumstances and how they respond to them."

"Right," Ron said. "Your father was a rich, spoiled bastard, and he responded to that by thinking it was fun to torture and murder muggles."

"I think my father was a rich, spoiled child, who was taught that muggles and muggleborns were beneath him. Which he believed, without question, they way most children believe the things their parents teach them. And I think he was given a task, and told that if he didn't complete it, his parents would be killed."

"The _task_ being to kill Dumbledore," Ron clarified angrily.

Scorpius nodded. "And a part of him was proud." He ignored Ron's spluttering and continued. "Because this was something Voldemort himself had been unable to do, something grown wizards feared. And it had been entrusted to him at only sixteen." Scorpius shook his head. "I think it took most of the year for him to realize how naïve he had been. To realize that no one expected him to succeed. That he was just another way for Voldemort to punish his parents."

"Am I supposed to feel sorry for him?" Ron asked. "My brother almost died that night, at the hands of someone your father let into the castle!"

Scorpius nodded. "I know," he responded. "But like I said, actions are more difficult than words. When it comes down to it, it's much harder to take a life than it is to speak words. He could have succeeded, but he didn't want to kill Dumbledore. Nor did he want Greyback on the Hogwarts grounds." Scorpius paused for a moment. "Do you remember the name of the Muggle Studies professor when you were at school?" he asked.

Ron shook his head. "What does that have to do with anything?"

"Charity Burbage," Hermione answered quietly. "They say Voldemort killed her himself after she wrote a piece for the Daily Prophet."

Scorpius nodded. "It happened in my grandfather's house. My dad said they tortured her for days. She just . . . hung there, above his dining room table, for Voldemort to abuse when he felt the desire."

"And this is supposed to make your dad look better?" Ron asked in a disbelieving tone.

"I don't think my dad cared about her at all, before that. He certainly wasn't going to take Muggle Studies. And beyond that, she meant nothing to him. But if you think he doesn't remember her name, doesn't remember seeing that, at seventeen . . . you're out of your mind." He held up a hand forestalling Ron's response. "I think you're right that he was spoiled. But he was also sheltered. I don't think he'd ever seen anything like that. Even after what happened at Hogwarts. I don't think he really understood until then."

"But he didn't do anything to help her," Ron said.

Scorpius shook his head. "No," he said. "Nor did Professor Snape, who turned out to be on your side all along. Nor did anyone." He shrugged. "Maybe you would have fought, in his place. But I don't think there was any part of him willing to join her up there."

"So your great defense of your father is that he's a coward?" Ron asked.

Scorpius sighed. "I don't think I'll ever understand Gryffindors. Sometimes I wonder if you actually understand fear at all."

"I understand fear fine, thanks," Ron responded. "I fought in the war."

"But if you were in that position. If someone you understood to be vastly more powerful than you – and everyone in the room combined – was doing something you didn't like, you would attack him, even if that meant he'd likely torture and kill you and your family?"

"I wouldn't be fighting him alone," Ron said. "My family aren't Death Eaters."

"But his were." Scorpius said quietly.

"And that makes it better?" Ron asked.

Scorpius shrugged. "I think it makes it more understandable. I also don't think he's ever claimed to be a particularly brave person. I don't think being a coward makes him a monster."

"No, but I think helping monsters makes him one," Ron responded.

"But he doesn't anymore. Now he helps my mum, who tries to help the people hurt by monsters." Scorpius took a bite. "If you want to do the math, person for person I think he has helped many, many more than he ever had a hand in hurting."

"I doubt that," Ron argued with a glare.

"I know," Scorpius said, shrugging. "You're a wizard. And wizards tend to only see the parts of the world that affect them. I guess really _people_ tend to only see the parts of the world that affect them, it's just that with wizards that part is narrowed significantly."

"Right," Ron said, angry. "You're dad's a great person, and I don't see it because I'm self-centered."

"We started this whole conversation with your suggestion that I'm prejudiced for thinking muggles need charity. I really don't think it's every crossed your mind that there are billions of muggles out there who do need charity. Who are starving, or fleeing violence, or homeless, or sick. You don't see them, because they don't matter to you. Your wizarding war resulted in the deaths of hundreds of wizards. And that's huge to you, because you knew many of them. If you add in the muggles, your death toll might be in the thousands. Muggle wars result in the death of _millions_. But you don't care, because they mean nothing to you. Life for life, my mum and my dad have helped tens of thousands of muggles. If it were possible to balance the scales, that should do it. Even if you laid the whole of the war at my father's feet, he would still have helped more people than he ever hurt." Scorpius shrugged. "But it doesn't matter in the end, because you aren't thinking in terms of logic or balance or redemption. All that you'll ever see is that he was on the side that helped kill people you loved, and so you hate him."

"Yes," Ron said. "I do."

"And that's fine," Scorpius said. "It's your right. But it doesn't change the fact that he's married to my mum. And that they're aid workers. Life is what it is, and they are what they are. If you want to hate them, you're welcome to it. But I can't for the life of me understand why you're arguing that I should hate them."

"I'm not trying to," Ron said. "Only I don't like you making them out to be saints."

Scorpius shrugged. "I don't believe in saints."

Hermione cleared her throat. "How did they meet?" she asked, trying to change the subject. "Your parents."

Scorpius smiled slightly. "My mum was trying to get him to donate to her organization. He pretended to be interested to try to get a date. In the end, he found he actually was interested. And after a few years, she found he might actually be worth dating."

"A few years?" Ginny asked, surprised. "What, did he just follow her around until she gave in?"

Scorpius laughed. "Sort of. He claimed he volunteered all the time, which was complete bollucks. And she called him on it. Rather than admit he had lied, he kept up the charade. Kept it up so long that after a while he realized he had actually begun to do what he claimed he had been doing. And that he liked it."

"What was he doing?" Lily asked.

"Working with child soldiers," Scorpius answered.

Hermione raised her eyebrows. "In Africa?" she asked.

"Do you mean like teenage soldiers?" Ginny asked. "The youngest of the lot?"

Scorpius shook his head. "No. They're actually children. Many of them are taken from their families. They're . . . brainwashed, I suppose you'd call it. Often given drugs. Molded into whatever their commanders want them to be." He scrubbed a hand through his hair. "It presents a big problem, because it's hard to define justice," he glanced at Ron, "when you're dealing with a ten-year-old who has been kidnapped."

"That doesn't seem hard," Ron said. "They're the victim. You find the people that kidnapped them and –"

"Ron," Hermione said. "The problem is they're soldiers. They kill people."

Scorpius nodded. "Some of the worst atrocities are committed by gangs of youths," he said. "And when they're . . . rescued, if you want to call it that, it's very difficult. They don't run into their parents' arms, grateful. Often they've been taught to hate their parents. They think they are the strong ones, the right ones. And psychologically speaking, it's very difficult to disabuse them of that notion without further damaging them. It's very harmful to a person's psyche to believe they are fighting on the right side, and then be taught that they were actually the monsters in the end. Then they have all sorts of guilt layered on top of the trauma."

"What do they do for them?" Rose asked.

"They build homes for them," Scorpius said. "Mostly they work with muggles. There isn't exactly a spell to fix the damage that's been done. So they give them a safe place to be. They have guards, and teachers, and psychologists who work with them."

"What does your dad do?" Ginny asked.

"He and my mum set up the homes. They choose the locations, hire the staff, finance the project. They do a lot of fundraising, again mostly among the muggles. They also try to work with refugees, setting up housing and trying to help them find a new place."

"Do they do it mostly when you're in school?" Harry asked.

Scorpius shook his head. "No. I mean, I think they tailor their summer projects to be the safer ones. They're often in refugee camps and that sort of thing. Far enough from the actual fighting for me to be relatively safe."

"They weren't concerned about exposing you to all of that at such a young age?" Hermione asked.

"I don't think so," Scorpius said. "I think they'd rather me know what the world is than believe it's something it's not."

"But you're getting such a bleak view," Ginny said, sounding concerned.

Scorpius smiled slightly. "I don't think so," he said. "I think it's a realistic view. You see the best of humanity and the worst of it, all in a jumble. It makes it easier to sort out where you stand on things. I'd rather that then be spoiled and sheltered," he said. "And I think my dad wants to make sure I don't, I dunno, get caught in the same snares he did."

Hugo eyed him, considering. "If you spend your summers at these camps, is that where you find muggles to date."

Scorpius laughed. James noticed that most of his family looked surprised. He had to admit, he was a bit himself. Scorpius had never struck him as the laughing type.

"No," Scorpius said. "The aid workers are all older than me. And the refugees . . ." he shrugged, amusement dying out from his face. "Some of them will show an interest in the people there to help them. But a lot of times that's because they see it as a way out. If they can find a husband, they can get entry into another country. A home. Security. All that." He shook his head. "I think taking advantage of their situation would be the worst kind of evil."

"So when do you find muggles to date?" Albus asked. James tried not to be too amused that both his brother and his cousin found this question so pressing.

"Oh, we only go for short stretches. When we're in England, I spend most of my time with Kim in London," he said.

Harry looked at Kim in confusion. "So you don't spend most of your holidays with the Malfoys?"

She shrugged.

"Sometimes," Scorpius said. "Sometimes I stay with her," he said. "I think they wanted her to stay at your house as well, because she'd be a good way to get to any of us. My mum loves her, and my dad's very protective of her," he explained. "And we're close. So I think they realize that if anyone wanted to get at them, she'd be a good avenue."

"Ah," Harry said. "And your parents don't mind you're staying with us?" he asked Hunter. "Even though they haven't met us?"

Hunter shook her head. "No," she said. "I've got a lot of freedom," she explained. "At least most of the time," she added under her breath. James could barely catch it.

* * *

_A/N: Wowie wow wow. That was like my longest chapter ever. At least you got loads of background on Scorpius. So tell me, does this chapter make him whatever the male version of a Mary Sue is? I'm still unclear on what exactly that means, but I understand my OC and AU characters tend to be in the vein. Ah well. _

_Also, it's been brought to my attention that Scorpius' mom is called Astoria and Hermione works in Magical Law Enforcement, or something like that. I haven't actually looked into where J.K. Rowling saw her characters going, so I think I'll just stick with my original plan. I mean, I tend to write at least slightly AU fics even in relation to what the books actually cover, so . . . Yeah. I acknowledge that this story might be technically incorrect, and I'm ok with that._


	15. After

James lay in bed tossing his bouncy ball in the air. Scorpius lied, James decided. He figured out what James' parents needed to hear to like him and said it. Or he meant it. Which made James the ass.

He threw the ball in the air again.

He had never considered himself an ass. Gryffindors always fought on the right side. Except maybe Peter Pettigrew. But he was practically a Slytherin. A bootlicker. Like Scorpius.

Of course, thought James, Pettigrew had never expressed an interest in helping muggles in need. He tossed the ball in the air again. But that could have been a show.

Except that Hunter said he had a muggle fetish. And James didn't see her getting in on the bootlicking. Or, if she decided to help Scorpius make a good impression, she wouldn't have gone with the shagging muggles line. It had too much potential to backfire.

He caught the ball, held it in his hand. He wondered what the protocol would be in this sort of situation. Did he owe Malfoy an apology? Should he just pretend he had never been an ass?

He rolled over, setting the ball on his nightstand and climbing out of bed. He needed a glass of water. That would help clear his mind.

He walked down the stairs, taking care not to wake anyone up. He went straight to the cupboard, pulled out a glass, and filled it with cold water. Raising it to his lips, he drank it in one go. He turned to refill it, but froze when he saw light shifting in the hall.

He looked up to see Hunter emerging from the bathroom. He stared at her. She glared back at him.

After a moment, she walked toward him. Technically, she probably walked toward the adjacent hall, which would lead her to the stairs, and up to Lily's room. But that did mean walking in his direction. He wondered vaguely why she had used the downstairs bathroom.

He stepped forward, striding toward her quickly. She tried to side-step him, but he blocked her way.

"I'm not apologizing," he growled. He regretted it immediately. He didn't consider himself an expert on the matter, but he felt fairly sure an apology might be in order given his treatment of Malfoy. And the apparent good nature of his victim.

She raised her eyebrows. "Of course not. The great Harry Potter's son doesn't apologize for anything," she responded scornfully.

"Don't start that shit," he snapped.

She shook her head. "You're amazing. It's like you can't actually process anything but your own inflated ego."

"Look, maybe I was wrong –" he began.

"Maybe?"

"Well, how the hell do I know if he's telling the truth?" he snarled.

"Be a bit of a strange lie, wouldn't it? At least for a mudblood hater," she returned.

"Could you stop using that word?"

"Right, because me using a bad word is so much worse than the shit you've pulled on Scorpius without any provocation." She rolled her eyes, trying to push past him.

"His dad-" he began, blocking her way again.

"Isn't relevant at all. I realize you can't accept that, since you've been riding your dad's coattails from bed to bed around Hogwarts, but-"

"See, here and I didn't have the impression you thought that highly of him. But it turns out you shagged me because I'm Harry Potter's son," James returned.

"I shagged you because I was high," she hissed.

"That only works for the times you were high. What's the excuse for the rest?" he asked.

"Madness, obviously," she snapped. "Maybe with a touch of masochism tossed in."

"Or maybe you like me," he suggested.

She snorted in response. "Oh, I didn't realize you were sleep-walking. I'll just go up to bed and leave you to your drea-"

He kissed her. A tiny, tiny part of his brain knew it was stupid. But the rest over-ruled it, shouting that she'd been in his house for weeks, and he hadn't shagged her in ages.

He pushed her back toward the bathroom, thinking just clearly enough to realize that privacy was a necessity.

"Uh-uh. Oh no," she said, shoving him back. "Not gonna happen."

He lifted his hand, ran his thumb across her bottom lip. "You're in my house," he said. "I'm losing my mind. I can't stand you being in my house and not having you."

He used his fingers to angle her mouth and leaned down to kiss her again. He backed her into the bathroom, lifted her up onto the sink.

"You're parents are –" she began, but ended on a moan when he scraped his teeth against her bottom lip.

"Upstairs," he said, gently kicking the door shut. He hooked his thumbs under her shirt, lifting it over her head.

"I'm not doing this," she declared, but he found it hard to believe her when she arched into him.

He trailed his mouth down her neck. "I'm sorry," he said. "You're right. I'm the bastard. You can tell me all about it. Just," he ran his hands up the inside of her thighs, catching his fingers in the waist band of her pants, "after. Please."

She lifted her hips, let him slide the pants off. He dragged her underwear with them. They made quick work of his own.

When he lost himself in her, he thanked Merlin for the Malfoys, and whatever twist of fate brought her into his home.

* * *

_A/N So, in planning out the rest of this story (and yes, there is an actual plot), I've ended up with a very clear image of where they'll both be at 25. And it's super frustrating, because now I want to write that instead of this. I'm a little bored of the totally unhealthy sex all the time, but it's a weirdly necessary bridge between this and Hunter's background and yada, yada, yada. Unless you guys would be chill with me just skipping over a decade or so? Please? Come on, you're totally bored of this business too, right? _


	16. All In All

James woke up the next morning, relaxed for the first time in weeks. He shifted, felt his shirt rub against the scratches down his back. He never minded at the time, and the evidence wasn't really an issue at school, but the scratches could be a problem this time around.

Then again, he didn't see any reason he would need to be taking his shirt off around his family. At least, not anytime in the near future.

He strolled down the stairs and slid into a chair at the kitchen table. Hunter and Malfoy weren't down yet.

"Good morning, love," his mum said, messing up his hair. "Your dad and I were talking, and we thought it might be nice to go to the seaside today. What do you think?"

James opened his mouth to answer, but Albus beat him to it from across the table. "Course he thinks it's a great idea, Mum. Have you ever heard James turn down a trip to anywhere?"

Ginny laughed in agreement.

"Do you think Scorpius and Kimball would like it?" Lily asked from her spot at the table.

Albus shrugged. "I don't see why it would make a difference to them."

"You'd know better than anyone else when it comes to Kimball," Ginny spoke to Lily, who shrugged.

"She's not real chatty," Lily explained.

Albus nodded. "Yeah, I think she talked more last night then the rest of the time she's been here put together."

James glanced over when the person in question walked into the room, Malfoy trailing behind. James watched her walk around to the other side of the table and take a seat. She didn't look at him once.

"We were just discussing our plans for the day," Ginny told them. "What do you two think of a trip to the seaside?"

James felt confident no one was at all surprised by Hunter's shrug. It seemed to be her stock response.

Malfoy made more of an effort. "That sounds like fun," he said.

James couldn't tell for sure, but he thought he heard Hunter snort. Still, the plan seemed to be on, and it would give him the chance to spend the day watching Hunter run around in a swimsuit.

* * *

James turned out to have been sorely mistaken. For someone who seemed to have very little problem shagging him senseless in hallways and classrooms, Hunter had a surprisingly shy side. Or that was James' only guess at why she didn't put on a bathing suit.

Malfoy didn't share her concern. He traipsed around in swim trunks, flirting with all the muggles. James didn't mind that so much, but he noticed Lily glancing in Malfoy's direction a little too often.

Acknowledging that Malfoy may not actually be demon spawn did not mean James wanted him anywhere near his baby sister.

He had to admit, however, that Malfoy didn't seem to have given Lily a second glance. Despite her excessively revealing swimsuit. Why his parents had every allowed her to purchase a two-piece completely escaped James.

The trip wasn't turning out at all as he expected. Albus and Lily were both watching Malfoy. Lily for obvious reasons. Albus, on the other hand, seemed to be trying to pick up tips on flirting with the muggles. As though James couldn't teach him ten times as much as any Malfoy.

And Hunter wasn't even wearing a swimsuit. James saw more skin when she came down for breakfast in the little shorts and tank top she wore to sleep in.

Plus, he couldn't even swim or play in the water, because that would mean taking off his shirt. He couldn't very well do that without his parents wanting to know where he got the scratches down his back. And the bite on his shoulder.

James scowled at the waves. This hadn't turned out how he wanted at all.

* * *

_A week later . . ._

One small upside to Albus' pathetic hero worship of Malfoy was that Hunter was unoccupied more often than before. She tended to spend any non-Malfoy free time in Lily's room.

James wandered upstairs, knowing that everyone else was occupied for the moment. He strolled over to Lily's room, knocking lightly as he opened the door. Hunter looked up from reading a book on the extra bed.

"Oh no," she said, jumping up and striding over to him. "You need to leave."

He smiled, leaning against the door jam. "Why's that?"

She glared at him. "Out."

"Everyone is downstairs," he said, stepping closer to her. "What are you worried about?"

"I'm not worried about anything," she snapped. "I just don't want you in here."

He glanced over at the empty bed. "See," he said, looking back at her. "The thing is, I've wanted you in a bed for ages now."

"And you, what, figure your parents will stay politely downstairs while we shag in your little sister's room?"

He shrugged. "With any luck."

"I think not," she responded, pushing him away.

He stepped closer. "The other option would be for you to come to me," he offered quietly. "I actually like that one better." He lifted a hand, but she slapped it away immediately.

"Fine," she said. "If you won't leave, I will."

She pushed past him, but he caught her arm and pulled her around. "The thing is," he said, pushing her back against the wall. "I thought the other night would help. But I think it only made it worse." He leaned in, catching her bottom lip between his teeth. "I can't handle having you in my house and not having you in my bed."

He kissed her, felt the hands that had been pushing him away curl into his shirt, pull him closer.

"If you come in after everyone is asleep," he whispered, trailing his mouth down her neck, "they'll never know." He heard the creak of someone coming up the stairs and pulled back. "Think about it," he said, turning and walking back into his own room before anyone could catch them.

* * *

She lasted a week. He thought she could have held out longer under normal circumstances, but he had a feeling life at his parent's house involved a level of boredom she hadn't expected.

All in all, he thought, the summer was shaping up to be a much better one than he had expected. He may have a Malfoy in his house, but he also had Hunter in his bed every night.


	17. In Our Own Beds

He could feel her, smell her, taste her. His dream would be perfect if he could just see her rising above him. He opened his eyes, blindly hopeful –

And actually saw her. Fuck, it was the best possible way to wake up. He glanced at the clock in his room. 2:06 am, and he had Hunter straddling him. He was already hard, and she was already naked.

He shifted, helping her find a better position. And groaned when she lowered herself onto him. Nothing in the world compared to this, he thought, watching her move.

And then he saw the door start to swing open at the same time he heard a soft knock.

"James," his mother said, peeking around the door. "I thought I heard . . ." she stared at them, blinking slowly.

James felt himself wilt. "Bloody hell," he said, as Hunter rolled off of him and started searching for her clothes.

* * *

Ginny watched in shock as Kimball began looking for her something.

"Harry," she called loudly. "I think you need to come deal with your son."

Kimball, apparently unable to locate her own shirt, pulled James' on. She slid out of the bed and into her little pajama shorts. Ginny felt mildly relieved that she would at least be dressed by the time Harry got there.

"Right, well," Kimball said, combing a finger through her hair. "I'm off to bed."

"I don't think so," Ginny responded in a stern voice. "We need to discuss this kind of behavior." She looked to Harry for confirmation when he approached.

Kimball raised her eyebrows. "No," she said. "You," she clarified, including James and the newly arrived Harry in her gesture, "need to talk about this. If you have a problem with who your son shags, take it up with him. My _behavior_ is none of your business."

Ginny glanced at Harry, relieved that he seemed as concerned about the situation as she was.

"Actually," Ginny corrected, "as you're living in our house, your behavior is most certainly our business."

Kimball shrugged. "You're more than welcome to throw me out. I didn't want to be here in the first place."

"That's not what we're saying," Harry clarified, ignoring his Ginny's look. "We want to make sure you stay safe. But we don't want to encourage . . ." he trailed off, glancing over at James, apparently unable to select the right word.

"Then deal with him," Kimball said, walking toward the door. "I promise not to force myself on him," she added, rolling her eyes.

* * *

James' parents both turned to him. He double-checked to make sure the covers were living up to their name.

"I can't even fathom how you could-" his mother began, but Harry laid a hand gently on her arm.

"Let's wait until the morning," he said quietly. "I'm sure emotions are running high right now. We'll all sleep on it. _In our own beds_," he added in a stern voice, clearly directed at James. "And tomorrow we can discuss how best to deal with it." He glanced at Ginny and got a nod. James was fairly sure they wouldn't care much one way or the other how he voted.

* * *

_A/N Were the POV changes pretty clear? I think this is the first time I've switched out of James' point of view, but I'll be doing it more often in the next few chapters. I just want to make sure the formatting works so that it's easy to tell whose perspective you're reading. _


	18. Fair Enough

The next morning came far too soon for James' liking. He decided to face the firing squad immediately, and presented himself in the kitchen for his punishment.

Ginny glanced over at him when he entered. "You're father wants to speak to you in the office," she said.

James nodded. He opened his mouth to say something, but closed it quickly. He had no idea how to mollify her in these circumstances.

He turned on his heel and walked down the hall, knocking lightly at the office door.

"Come in," his dad called.

James walked in and stood in front of the desk. "Mum said you wanted to speak to me," he said.

Harry nodded. "Sit," he told him, gesturing to a chair.

James obeyed without comment.

Harry watched him for a moment, rubbing tension out of his neck. "I'd like to give you a chance to explain yourself, but I suppose the explanation is that you're seventeen and ruled by your hormones."

"I'm not entirely sure what _hormones_ are," James said, "but that's probably true."

Harry's lip quirked. "It's a muggle term. It's . . ." he shook his head. "Not really worth explaining." He rubbed his hands over his face. "You understand why your mother and I are so disturbed by your choice of . . . partner, don't you?

James felt his ire rise. "I know you vastly prefer Malfoy," he responded.

Harry raised his eyebrows. "I don't know that we'd be any happier if we'd caught you in bed with him."

James felt his face redden. "That's not what I meant," he spluttered.

"What did you mean?" Harry asked, raising an eyebrow.

James scrubbed a hand through his hair. "Just that I know you guys hate Hunter, so I'm not surprised you aren't happy with my 'choice of partner' as you called it."

Harry cocked his head, furrowing his eyebrows slightly. "We don't hate Kimball, James."

"Please," James said. "I heard mum tell Uncle Ron she was horrible."

Harry sighed."I don't think either of us find her particularly . . . pleasant to deal with. But admitting that is a far cry from hate."

James shrugged. "So then why is it such a problem? I'm seventeen. Lots of guys who are seventeen have sex."

"Putting aside for a moment," Harry said, rubbing his temples, "the general question of whether you're ready to have sex. I think it does matter that it was Kimball." He raised a hand when James began to respond. "Wait please," he said. "It's not how we feel about her that concerns us, James. It's how you do."

"I know, you don't like that I'm shagging her. I get it," James grumbled.

Harry shook his head. "We don't like that you're involved with someone you don't even seem to like. Honestly, your feelings for her seem very close to hatred a lot of the time. And she to you. You have to understand why we'd be concerned about you sleeping with someone you neither like nor respect."

"I don't hate her," James said. "I like her a sight better than Malfoy."

"Who you definitely hate," Harry pointed out.

James shrugged awkwardly. "It's been brought to my attention that I may have been out of line on that," he mumbled.

"By Kimball?" Harry asked.

"And Malfoy's whole speech at Ron and Hermione's," James agreed.

Harry paused, leaning back in his chair. "Tell me this, James. Do you feel that your relationship with Kimball is healthy for the pair of you?"

James stared at him, not really sure how to respond. "What do you mean by healthy?"

Harry closed his eyes. "I mean it's good for you, rather than bad."

"Well," James said, thinking it through. "It's definitely enjoyable, which I would consider a good thing," he decided.

"I meant emotionally," Harry corrected, propping his elbow on the desk resting his forehead on his hand.

James stared at him. "I don't understand."

"You don't understand what the term 'emotionally' means?" Harry clarified.

James shrugged. "I don't understand what it has to do with sex."

"Which brings up the larger question of whether or not you should be having sex at your age," Harry said, more to himself than James.

"Look, Dad," James began. "Most people don't meet their wife at eleven. And most don't start dating her at sixteen. And even fewer are in love with every person they have sex with."

"I'm not suggesting you have to marry the first girl you date, or even the first girl you sleep with," Harry said.

"Which is good, because that ship has sailed."

Harry sighed. "What I am suggesting," he continued, apparently deciding to ignore James' comment, "is that you should care about someone if you're going to sleep with her. It should matter to you. _She_ should matter to you."

"Sure," James said. "Hunter matters."

"You don't even call her by her first name," Harry exclaimed. "How can you possibly try to say that?"

"Well," James said, thinking it over. "I've thought of her as Hunter since I first met her, which was five plus years ago. I don't see why I should change that just because we're shagging."

"So you guys talk, and spend time together, and do things outside of the bedroom?" Harry asked.

James smiled slightly, but decided his dad wouldn't appreciate him pointing out that, excepting this summer, they always shagged outside of the bedroom. "Sure," James said, deciding brevity would work in his favor at the moment.

"Right," Harry said, scrubbing his hands over his face. "Here's what we'll do. I'm going to ask you not to continue with your relationship over the summer," he said. "I'm not saying I approve of it during the school year, but I understand that we can't make all of your decisions for you. Over the summer, though, Kimball has been placed in our protection. I can't imagine that her parents or the Malfoys had this in mind. If she's going to continue to stay here – and hope you care about her enough to at least take into account her safety – then the two of you need to give up the physical aspect of your relationship."

James stared at him in surprise. "Did you just give me permission to shag her at school? Does Mum know?"

Harry sighed. "I didn't, exactly. I said I understand you'll make your own decisions, and I only hope you respect your mother and I enough to behave yourself over the summer, when protecting Kimball is actually a part of my job. During the school year," he shrugged, "I think you'll do whatever you want, despite my best intentions. Though I would," he added, "encourage you to think about whether or not it's healthy for either of you to be involved with someone you don't respect."

James nodded. "Fair enough," he said.

"Alright," Harry agreed. "Can you go get your brother and sister and Scorpius? We're going into town."

"Not to press the issue or anything, but should I get Hunter too?" James asked.

Harry shook his head. "Your mother is going to speak to her."

James thought about warning them off, but decided he shouldn't press his luck.


	19. Fine

Ginny knocked on Kimball's door when the rest of the family left. Scorpius had looked mildly concerned when he realized she wouldn't be joining them, but apparently trusted Ginny to take care of her.

"Yeah?" came the reply from inside Lily's room.

Ginny opened the door, stepping in.

"Still want to talk about my behavior, huh?" Kimball said, glancing up from whatever muggle device she held in her hands.

"As a matter of fact," Ginny agreed, seating herself on Lily's bed. "I do think we need to discuss it."

Kimball went back to whatever she was fiddling with.

"I would appreciate your attention," Ginny said.

Kimball didn't look up this time. "And I would appreciate you recognizing that you aren't my mother and have no say over how I behave."

"As you're living in our house-" Ginny began.

"I'm more than happy to leave," Kimball responded, lifting her little muggle item. "Just say the word and I'll call someone to come pick me up."

"You know," Ginny decided, "you're right. I'm not you mother." She rose and walked over to the door. "Are you coming?" she asked.

"Coming where?"

"I'm going to take you to your parents," Ginny said.

Kimball stared at her. "Alright," she said. "I'm happy to go, but I don't need a lift." She turned to pack her stuff.

Ginny shook her head. "No, I don't mean for good. I just think they have a right to know about your _behavior_. Since you have pointed out so clearly that Harry and I have no say in how you act, we'll take you to the people who do."

"Right," Kimball said, looking down at her hands again. After a moment, she shrugged. "Fine."

* * *

As Ginny pulled the car onto the street Kimball told her, she felt her concern sharpen. Perhaps she should have asked Harry to send some backup from the ministry. This did not seem like a safe neighborhood at all.

"There," Kimball said. "The blue house."

Ginny pulled in front of it, and the pair of them got out of the car. She felt her sympathy for the girl increase. The little place was run down. It needed far, far more than a fresh paint job.

They walked up and knocked on the door. A fairly average looking man opened it. He had nondescript brown hair, stood a little under six feet, and carried a bit of extra weight. "Yeah?" he said. His eyes traveled over to Kimball. "Back, are you?" he asked in a gruff voice.

Ginny glanced over at Kimball, who showed no emotion at all. She looked back at the man. "Hello," she said, aiming for cheerful. "You must be Mr. Hunter. I'm Ginny Potter. Can we come in?"

He stared at them for a moment before backing up to let them in.

"As you know, Kimball has been staying with us over the summer," Ginny began. "And we're a bit concerned about some of the choices she's been making."

"I'll bet you are," he said, eying Kimball.

Ginny glanced over at the girl. "Would you rather tell him, or should I?"

"I'll do it," Kimball responded in a blank voice.

Ginny nodded. "I'll give you some privacy then." She tried to pat Kimball on the shoulder, but the girl stepped away. Ginny was mildly pleased that she took her father seriously, if no one else.

She walked out to her car and got in the driver's seat. She kept her eyes trained on the front door, taking her responsibility for protecting the girl very seriously.

* * *

"I thought Albus was going to eat his plate," James joked as they walked back up to the house. "Honestly. I don't see how you can be so much smaller than me," he punched his little brother on the arm, "and eat so much more."

"Guess I'm still growing," Albus returned with a cheeky smile. "You must have stopped ages ago. At least I know I won't be your _little_ brother forever."

Harry laughed at them, unlocking the door. When they got inside, Scorpius went directly upstairs. James guessed he wanted to see why Hunter hadn't come to breakfast.

"So, Dad," James began. "What do you say to a trip to the Burrow at some point this summer?"

Harry glanced over. "Didn't we tell you? They've set a date later in the month for everyone to go back and visit. All the kids, all their kids, and any spares we've got lying around."

"Excellent," James said. "And, no, you didn't tell-"

Scorpius came hurrying down the stairs. "Where's Kim?" he interrupted.

Harry sighed. "Ginny said if their talk didn't go well, she was going to take her to speak to her parents. I'm guessing-"

He didn't get any further, because Scorpius turned on the spot and disapparated.

James and Harry stared blankly at the place where he had been.

* * *

Ginny jumped in surprise when a blond figure suddenly appeared in front of the door to Kimball's home. She immediately jumped out of the car and ran up to the house, not even bothering to knock on the partially opened door before entering.

Inside, she saw the blond – Scorpius – on top of Mr. Hunter. She watched him haul back his fist and plow it into the man's face. She stepped forward to stop him and then froze when she took in the rest of the scene.

Kimball was slowly dragging herself up from the floor, bleeding and looking thoroughly battered. She walked over to Scorpius, dragging him off her father. "Come on," she said. "We need to go."

She started to pull him toward the door, but Scorpius stopped her. Grabbing onto Kimball's arm, he disapparated.

Ginny looked at the man lying on the floor. After a moment's deliberation, she modified his memory – taking care not to damage it so much that they couldn't access it if she had to come back with someone from Magical Law Enforcement.

Then she apparated back to her house.

* * *

Harry had just finished contacting Ron to get the ball rolling on finding Scorpius when the subject in question appeared on the front step, with Kimball in tow. He went outside, reading to tear them a new one for leaving without anyone to protect them and apparating without a license.

"Are you two out of your-" he began, but stopped short when he saw Kimball's face. "Bloody hell. Are you alright?" he asked. He reached toward her. She jerked away, and he dropped his arm.

He glanced at James, who was staring at her bruised face in shock.

"Fine," Kimball said, immediately turning toward the stairs. Scorpius followed her, and they had a hushed discussion at the base of the steps.

Harry looked over when Ginny walked in. "What happened?" he asked.

"I'm not certain," Ginny said, looking ill. "I brought her to her house, took her inside. She said she'd rather tell her father, so I left them to it." She turned to Harry with a horrified look on her face. "I was sitting in the car the whole time," she whispered. "I didn't go in until I saw Scorpius apparate on the front step."

* * *

"You need a healer," Scorpius told her emphatically.

"I'm fine," she snapped, moving toward the stairs again.

He laid a hand gently on her arm, wincing when she flinched away. "I can heal the bruises on your face," he told her. "But you could have serious internal injuries."

She pulled away from him. "I'm fine," she said again. "I just need people to mind their own fucking business."

Rather than touching her, Scorpius simply moved in front of her this time. "I am minding my own fucking business. As you're my friend and you could be seriously hurt, I think it falls into the right category. You need a bloody healer."

"I'm fine," she snarled.

"So you haven't got any injuries I can't see?" he asked.

She glared at him. In a furious move, she pulled off her shirt. "Happy?" she asked.

"Why would I be happy about this?" he responded in a quiet voice, gesturing to the bruises marring her side. "I'm only saying you need a healer. Even if you're too stubborn to admit it hurts, you should at least have the sense to ensure it doesn't do permanent damage."

"We can," Ginny began from across the room. "We can ask Hermione to come over," she offered. "If you aren't willing to go to St. Mungo's."

"I'm really _not_ interested in anything you-" Kimball growled, but Scorpius interrupted her.

"That would be great, thanks," he said, glancing over at the others. "We'll be upstairs."

Kimball glared at him, but eventually turned on her heel and walked up the steps.

* * *

_A/N So, hands please: who saw this coming? _

_PS: If you're wondering, I decided not to skip ahead. It would have gotten too complicated and I probably would have just stopped writing the story altogether, which seems unfair to anyone reading it.  
_


	20. Bees

"Kimball?" she heard someone call as they knocked on the door.

Scorpius glanced at her. "Come in," he responded, daring her to disagree.

"I'm fine," she growled at him, but he didn't even bother to respond.

The door opened and Hermione Weasley's came slowly into the room. "Harry and Ginny asked me to come have a look at you," the woman said in a soft, soothing voice.

Kimball hated soft, soothing voices. Doctors, nurses, and social workers all had the same style of speech. You could spot them a mile away by their misguided attempts to disguise their purpose.

"Do you mind?" the healer asked.

Kimball opened her mouth to tell her she minded very much, but Scorpius spoke first.

"Not at all," he said, smiling gratefully. "We appreciate your help." He gave Kimball a look that probably should have warned her off.

She sighed. She wasn't going to be friendly to the damn healer, but she'd keep her mouth shut for Scor's sake. He had been there, after all. She could always count on him to look out for her. At least if she gave him half a chance.

The woman looked at Kimball again, obviously prepared to repeat the question. They always pretended like they really wanted the actual patient's permission, but Kimball knew better. None of them – the adults with the soft, soothing voices – really gave a damn what anyone like her wanted. They talked about her 'best interest' as if they knew anything about her and what would be best for her. If they left it to her, she'd never have gone within a mile of her father's house. For that matter, she'd never have come to the Potter's. And she sure as hell wouldn't need a healer right now.

Clenching her teeth, she shrugged. None of that mattered now. She didn't have any more of a choice now than she had about any of the rest of it.

"They said you had some injuries to your midsection?" Hermione said, raising an eyebrow.

Kimball nodded, pulling off her shirt before the woman even had to ask. She gave the lady credit: she had a healer's face. No reaction at all, just assessment.

After a moment, the woman motioned for Kimball to lie down. Then she waved her wand about, muttering. Kimball glanced at Scorpius, who watched the whole thing carefully. If he didn't run off to become an aid worker like his mum, Kim figured he'd join the healer ranks first chance he got.

"Hmmm . . ." the woman said, after a moment. "Nothing life-threatening," she said, "but we can certainly do a lot to make you more comfortable."

"I'm fine," Kimball responded, sitting up and pulling her shirt back on.

The woman eyed her for a moment. "Well, there's no sense in suffering for no reason. I can mix up a quick potion-"

"I don't-" Kimball began.

"She'd appreciate whatever you can do for her," Scorpius broke in. When Kimball glared at him, he shrugged. "Fine," he said, smiling gratefully at the woman. "_I'd_ appreciate whatever you can do for her." He glanced over at Kimball. "Look at it this way," he said. "How much would it infuriate him to know that nothing he does can hurt you for longer than it takes you to find a healer?"

"Doing things to piss him off is the same as doing things to avoid pissing him off," Kimball explained. "People only have as much power as you allow them."

"And if you let her heal you, he doesn't have any power at all," Scorpius returned.

Kimball shook her head. "It's like bees," she began.

"Bloody hell," Scorpius broke in. "Does she have a head injury?" he asked the healer, who looked surprised and concerned.

"I'm not delusional," Kimball snapped. "I'm saying an amazing number of people are terrified of bees. Completely disproportionate to the number with allergies that would justify their fear. The actual pain lasts only a short time, and hurts relatively little. And yet the fear of bees will absolutely petrify a lot of people. I've seen them bolt into a busy street to avoid a tiny bee, when a speeding car would cause a hell of a lot more damage than a stinger."

Scorpius eyed her injuries. "I think the speeding car is a better analogy at the moment," he said. "But even if you're going with the bee, it doesn't work. When you get stung by a bee, you take the damn stinger out."

Kimball smiled. "If you take the stinger out, you squeeze poison into the wound, actually making it worse." He stared at her. "Honest," she assured him. "But it doesn't matter, anyway. I'm not changing my behavior for him in one direction or the other. If he wants to hit me when we're three feet away from each other, that's his prerogative. But that's exactly as far as his reach stretches. He doesn't get any say in the rest of my life."

"Well then look at it as me having a say," he pleaded.

She shook her head. "No," she said.

"Why the hell not?" he responded.

"Because fuck him," she said. "If I get let her heal me, that means it hurt and I wanted it to stop hurting. He doesn't get that much from me. He doesn't mean that much to me. Nothing he does means shit to me," she shouted.

He sighed. "Alright," he responded softly. He always did that, got quieter when she got louder. He turned to the healer. "Thanks for checking on her," he said.

The woman looked like she wanted to argue, but kept her mouth closed instead. She nodded slightly. "Let me know if you change your mind," she told Kimball, who just looked at her.

Then she headed for the door, leaving Kimball and Scorpius in blessed peace.


	21. Perspective

_A few days later_

James watched her glide past his bedroom door. He shot off his bed, hurrying after her. He'd been trying to speak with her since it happened.

"Hunter," he called. She didn't respond. She didn't even react. He looked closer and realized she had her little muggle device shoved in her ears again. He didn't think he'd seen her without since she came downstairs after Hermione left.

He followed after her and caught up right as she reached to open the bathroom door.

"Hunter," he repeated as he placed his hand on her arm.

She came around swinging, and he just barely ducked out of the way.

"What?" she growled.

He backed up a step, lifting his hands in surrender. "I just wanted to see if you're ok," he said in a low voice.

"I'm fine," she snapped. "How many bloody times do I have to say it?"

"Probably a few more," he responded, reaching a hand out to trace the edge of a still livid bruise.

She backed away before he could touch her.

He shoved his hands in his pockets, rocking on his heels awkwardly. "Well, uh, if you think of anything I can do . . ."

"You can fuck off," she returned, turning her back on him.

He watched the door slam. "Right," he said, staring at the place she had just been.

* * *

_Two weeks later . . .  
_

"Alright everyone," James heard his father say. "Let's head over to your grandparents' house. One at a time now."

James watched as his sister and brother both shouted "The Burrow" and disappeared into the fireplace. He listened to his parents give Hunter and Malfoy instructions. Then they too vanished into the flames.

His parents pushed him forward, and he mimicked the others. In almost no time at all, he found himself at his grandparents' house.

"James," Grandma Weasley called, rushing forward to enfold him in a hug. His Grandpa followed suit, clapping him hard on the back.

"Hi," James said, smiling around at the assembled Weasleys. He saw that at least half the clan had made their way outside, and immediately began to do the same. He noticed his parents arrive out of the corner of his eye.

In the backyard, his grandparents had placed chairs in haphazard arrangements around scattered tables. James spotted Hermione checking on Hunter, who looked thoroughly displeased with the attention. As he watched, Hunter slipped away from Hermione and back into the house. James guessed she claimed to need the toilet.

James slid into a seat across from Teddy. "Hey," he said, grinning widely.

"James," Teddy returned, obviously pleased with his arrival. "How's the summer treating you?" he asked in a conspiratorial whisper. He shot a significant glance at Malfoy, who sat conversing with Hermione.

James shrugged. "Alright," he said.

Teddy grinned. "Albus may have said something about you getting caught in a compromising position with your other houseguest."

James, with many years of practice, avoided showing any sign of discomfort. "Albus has always had a big mouth."

Teddy burst out laughing. "As I recall, it was you who went about trumpeting my relationship with Victorie."

"Well," James said, lifting his shoulders casually, "I was young and inconsiderate."

"Like Albus now?" Teddy asked.

James shook his head. "He's probably just excited I finally got caught. I think it kills Albus that I never get busted for anything. He's so well-behaved, but I don't get punished that much more often than he does."

"That would be a little frustrating," Teddy agreed fairly.

James nodded. "Certainly. It's still a pain in the ass when he goes about running his mouth, though."

Teddy only laughed some more.

James saw Hunter emerge from the house again, carrying a pair of drinks. She slipped into the seat across from Malfoy, passed him a drink, shoved the ear thingies into her ears, and proceeded to ignore the entire crowd of Weasleys and Potters.

"Friendly one, she is," Teddy commented.

James shrugged. "She's not so bad," he said.

"Well," Teddy responded, eying her speculatively. "I'm sure she has any number of redeeming qualities. From your perspective, anyway."

James rolled his eyes. After a moment, he made the mistake of catching his Uncle Percy's attention. Teddy escaped just in time, but James found himself front row center for a speech about good sense and proper etiquette.


	22. Nice Guys and Bad Girls

James made his slow way over to the grassy area Hunter and Malfoy had gravitated toward. Lucky for him, several of his cousins had chosen a nearby blanket over the proffered chairs, giving him the perfect excuse to get near Hunter.

"Such a load of shit," Malfoy was saying.

Hunter rolled her eyes. "Please. It's one hundred percent true. Women are so much more sensible than men."

James could see that Molly, Dominique, Rose and Roxanne all agreed with her.

"Right," Scorpius responded sarcastically, rolling his eyes. "Women are all fucked up," he informed her. "I don't think you could find a more self-destructive species on the planet."

Hunter scoffed. "Forgetting for a moment that women aren't actually a separate species, vastly different and superior though we are-"

"So superior in fact that you all scrabble over each other," he said, waving his arms wildly, "to date the biggest assholes you can find."

"Like men don't date bitches," she returned.

Malfoy shrugged. "Men will fuck anything female. If they've got all the working parts," he said, spreading his arms wide, "we're pretty happy." He raised a finger. "Women, on the other hand, specifically seek out the most massive cocks they can find – and I don't mean the body part – to latch onto. If they were being sensible, they'd date the nice guys. But they don't. Nice guys never get laid."

"Probably nice girls don't get-"

"Nice girls get exactly as much as they'll have. I guarantee any girl decides she wants to fuck, she can find a willing man," he declared. "The same can't be said for men."

"Sure it can," Hunter disagreed. "It's all a question of standards. If the nice girls – or the ugly girls – are holding out for an attractive guy, they might never shag. But if they lower their standards, sure, they'll find a willing bloke. Same goes for the men. The nicest guy in the world can have a tumble every night if he isn't looking for a hot girl."

Malfoy shook his head. "I'm not sure that's true," he said. "But it's beside the point," he continued, before she could respond. "Because a better test is whether a girl will shag an average looking nice guy or an average looking asshole first. The answer's always going to be the asshole."

"I don't think that's true at all," Dominique put in. She sounded quite irritated. "I think most girls want a nice fella."

"Actions speak louder than words," Malfoy returned with a shrug.

"There you have it," Rose said, pleased. "All of our mothers married nice men."

Roxanne laughed. "Yeah, just because you're mum married a twitchy little ferret doesn't mean all women share the same taste," she told Malfoy.

"I'm sorry," Hunter said with a cold smile. "Did you somehow get the impression you were a part of this conversation? Because-"

"Kim," Malfoy warned, laying a hand on her arm. James gritted his teeth. He might be willing to accept that Malfoy wasn't a complete snake, but that didn't mean he wanted him touching her.

"There's no reason to get personal," Rose commented in a conciliatory voice, glancing at both Roxanne and Hunter. "We're just respectfully disagreeing."

Malfoy shrugged. "Which you're welcome to do," he said, taking a swig of his drink. "But it doesn't change the state of matters."

"I still don't see how you think you've proved your point," Hunter said, apparently deciding to ignore the audience the pair had gathered. "You think the fact that women will shag assholes means they're less sensible, but the reality is all men are assholes. So there's no real other option."

"Even if I accept your premise," Malfoy began.

"And you do," Hunter cut in.

Malfoy considered it. "For the most part," he decided. "Women are still more attracted to the guys who are bigger bastards."

"You're just making blanket statements with no proof at all," Molly declared.

Malfoy glanced over at her. "Alright," he said, looking back at Hunter. "Who's the bigger asshole, James or Albus?"

She rolled her eyes, not even really thinking it over. "James," she said.

"And which one have you fucked?" Scorpius asked in a patronizing tone.

She didn't bother to answer, just took a long drink.

Rose glanced at James, but turned to Malfoy instead. "At best you've proved your point with regard to Kimball."

"Hey," James, Molly, Dominique, and Roxanne all said together.

Rose gave James an apologetic look. "I said _at best_. And you have to admit, you're more likely to be a jerk than Albus."

James shrugged, deciding he couldn't really argue the point.

"We don't agree with Malfoys when they insult our family members," Roxanne growled.

Rose sighed. "I wasn't agreeing. I was only pointing out that her taste in men doesn't apply to the whole of our gender."

"Sure it does," Malfoy said. "If anything, it's one of the best examples, because she has her pick of the litter. There aren't a lot of men that would turn her down."

"My point is she might have issues that cause her to take an interest in-" Rose began.

"The kind of assholes who-" Malfoy continued, clearly ready to launch into specifics.

"Can we not get into that?" James asked, trying not to look at anyone.

He saw surprise flit across both Malfoy and Hunter's faces, and speculation show on those of his cousins, but he steadfastly avoided saying anything further.

After a moment, Malfoy shrugged. "Alright," he said. "In that case, we can go with the basic fact that James has shagged exponentially more girls than Albus has."

No one said anything for a moment, and James thought he might actually be in the clear. Then Hunter shook her head. "No," she decided. "That doesn't work. 99% of that is because he's Harry Potter's son, and Albus could pull that off just as well, if he were willing."

"Case and point," Scorpius said. "He's not willing to be a cock, so he doesn't get laid."

"So, in this scenario are you also an asshole?" Hunter asked. "Because so far you're two for two on the points you've made about Potter."

Scorpius looked taken aback.

"I meant in terms of shagging, not the way he treats me," she clarified. "We've fucked, and you're career stats are probably fairly similar."

James' head snapped up. He had been sure they had shagged, but hearing her say it still pissed him off.

Scorpius shrugged. "Sure," he said. "I mean, if you think about it, that was the whole problem with Em."

Hunter laughed. "I never got the impression sex was a problem there."

"I meant me being an asshole," Scorpius corrected.

Hunter rolled her eyes. "Please. You were like the most decent boyfriend she ever had."

"Except the part where I lied to her constantly," Scorpius clarified, taking another drink.

Hunter scoffed. "What were you supposed to do? Tell her you are a wizard? Sure, and the world would be a much better place after she had you committed. Full of nice guys who get the girl in the end."

"My point is, if you take the same guy and do an experiment, have him be nice to one girl and an ass to another, the one he's nice to will be friends with him and the one he's an ass to will fuck him," he said.

She shook her head. "It's not a matter of nice and an ass. It's a matter of confident and insecure. He," she jerked her head at James, "gets laid because he tries. I'll wager Albus takes ages to work up the confidence to go in for a kiss."

"Oh my God," Scorpius said, frustrated. "Why should it matter that he's confident if he's a dick? That should be the ballgame. Honestly. Brian was an absolute bastard, and all in all I'd say Potter may be the more decent of the two, but I can better understand how you got involved with Brian than him. It's like you looked over the whole school for the person who treated you the most like shit and then thought: _Him, I'll fuck him._"

Hunter snorted. "I think you give me more credit for coherent thought when I'm loaded than I deserve. I would have been equally satisfied with an ice cube or a shower."

Scorpius choked on his drink. "Fair enough," he said after a bout of coughing. "Still doesn't explain the continued relationship."

Hunter shrugged. "He's a good fuck, and I spend a lot of time loaded." When he raised an eyebrow, she made a face. "This summer doesn't count. There's nothing to do at their house _except_ him."

"You guys know James is sitting right here, don't you?" Molly asked.

Hunter gasped, whipping her head around to stare at James in feigned shock. "My God. I didn't see you there, Potter. I'd ask if your ego will recover, but you probably found a way to take everything we said as a compliment."

James nodded. "Asshole can have a lot of different meanings, after all," he responded.

"Massive cock, too," Hunter agreed.

James smiled. "That one's just an outright compliment," he said, brushing some dust off his shirt. He couldn't be sure, but he thought he saw Hunter's lip quirk slightly.

"Can we return to the idea that women like jerks?" Rose asked.

Malfoy gave her a bemused look, while Hunter snorted. "I don't think that was exactly his statement," she said.

Rose cleared her throat slightly, obviously unwilling to repeat Malfoy's phrasing. "My point is, I don't think it's a fair statement. Maybe the problem isn't that girls dislike nice guys. Maybe it's that nice guys don't speak up, so they never find out if girls like them or not. Like Kimball was saying about Albus."

"That only makes sense if you're working on the assumption that the bloke has to make the move," Malfoy responded.

"Which is absolutely the case," Fred cut in.

Hunter laughed. "Clearly you and Scorpius have different taste in women."

Malfoy turned to her, surprised. "What's that supposed to mean?"

"Oh please," she said. "You love aggressive women. You're like a lamb to the slaughter."

Malfoy blinked. "Wow. That was insulting on so many levels."

She raised an eyebrow at him.

"Lamb to the slaughter?" he repeated.

"Kate," she returned.

He rolled his eyes. "Seriously. I was young and naïve. You can't assume my taste in women hasn't changed since then."

"I'm pretty sure Kate forged your taste in women," she responded, taking another drink. James found it odd she hadn't needed to refill her bottle yet. "You like bad girls. It's an outright fact."

"Ah. And how does Em fit into that scenario?" he asked.

Hunter rolled her eyes. "That's your big evidence? Em's just a reformed bad girl. And only partially reformed. Don't get me wrong," she said, lifting her hands. "I like Emma. And I think she'll be a really interesting person, all around. I'm just saying she doesn't affect my argument that Kate forged your taste in women."

"That's . . ." he seemed unable to come up with the right word to describe what 'that' was.

"True?" Hunter offered. "All I'm saying is that if, by fourteen, you had already engaged in as much 'risky sexual behavior' as you had, you can't claim you go for the choir girls. Your average fourteen year old girl wears pretty basic knickers, that probably don't match her bra. You were _tragically_ disappointed when you discovered high heels aren't actually a part of lingerie. And I'm not sure you've realized at this point that most girls consider lingerie a special occasion kind of thing."

"Yeah," he agreed sadly. "That was a crushing blow."

"And I can't even begin to imagine you with a missionary sort of girl," she added.

Rose cocked her head. "What do missionaries have to do with anything? Or do you just consider them the apex of the good girls?"

Hunter smiled slightly. "See, Scor. If you were into good girls, you'd be all over Ms. Weasley here." She motioned toward Rose, as if the blush now moving over her face proved the point. "But instead, the closest you come is Em, who's done all the same bad shite as everyone else. She just got most of it out of her system early."

"What's your point?" Scorpius asked.

Hunter raised her eyebrows. "Was I supposed to have a point? I was just talking."

He shook his head. "Of course," he said.

"You know," Hunter began, taking another sip. "Instead of discussing Emma, we could go visit her. I mean, this summer has to be _killing_ you."

"Yes, because it's my dream to go hang out with my ex and her new boyfriend," Scorpius responded dryly, gulping down some more of his drink.

Hunter shrugged. "Ok, we could go to London and avoid Emma."

He shook his head. "No London," he said. "We're Potterbound for the time being."

"Ugh," Hunter moaned, flopping onto her back and shoving the muggle device back into her ears.

Malfoy shrugged and pulled out a hand held machine. He began fiddling with it, apparently deciding to ignore James and his cousins.

"Hey," Lily said, coming over to join them. "Did you guys hear about Victorie?"

James shook his head.

"Pregnant!" Lily squealed.

James smiled as the girls all vibrated with excitement. After a moment, he glanced over at Hunter. She seemed to be dancing slightly while lying on the ground. He couldn't really understand how someone could dance while flat out lying down, but she certainly had mastered it.

James listened while the girls discussed the possible gender, baby names, and every other thing imaginable. And he watched Hunter. After a short while, she rolled onto her feet and dragged Malfoy to his. She started dancing upright, and he laughed at her, trying to get away.

She pulled one of the ear pieces out of her ear and put it in his, then persevered in making him dance. He gave in much too easily for James' liking.

"Umm . . ." Ginny said, walking up to tell the kids it was time for lunch.

Hermione raised her eyebrows. "I remember dancing being . . . demonstrative when I was a kid, but it may have actually gotten more so."

Ginny waved her hands wildly until she got Malfoy's attention. He pointed her out to Hunter, who rolled her eyes and stalked off to sit by herself, bringing her bottle of whatever it was with her. James began to wonder exactly what they were drinking. He had a feeling his parents wouldn't approve.


	23. Pretty

They sat down to lunch around a large table, which had obviously been transfigured on the spot. James noticed that Malfoy kept a seat open next to him for Hunter, who appeared not long after. She took her seat without comment.

"So," Angelina asked them. "You like dancing?"

Hunter shrugged. Malfoy nodded. "Sure," he said.

"Don't know whether you can call that dancing," James' Grandma muttered.

"We thought about waltzing," Hunter responded. "But then remembered what century we were

in."

Grandma Weasley looked taken aback. "Well, whatever century, I can't imagine that sort of behavior is appropriate at a family event."

"If Scor and I could avoid being at your family event, I'm sure _everyone_ would be happier," Hunter returned.

Malfoy whispered something to her. She rolled her eyes and took another drink.

"You all looked like you were having an interesting discussion over there," Hermione said. "Do you mind if I ask what it was about."

Hunter took another bite of food, and Scorpius shrugged.

"Malfoy thinks women only date jerks," Roxanne responded.

George snorted. "Sounds like sour grapes to me."

Ron laughed. "But if women only dated jerks, I'm sure Malfoys would have no problem," he joked, getting an admonishing look for his wife. "Sorry," he said, not sounding at all like that was the case.

"Just a difference of opinion is all," Malfoy said, shrugging the whole debate off and taking a swig of his drink.

"I just don't think you can say something like that is true across the board," Molly put in.

Malfoy scrubbed a hand through his hair. "Of course not," he said. "Nothing is true in every case. There are always exceptions. I just meant women have self-defeating taste. That's all."

"Except we don't. None of our mothers married jerks. Are you saying the entire Weasley extended family is one massive exception?" Rose asked.

Malfoy laughed. He jerked his head toward Hermione. "Your mum is pretty, incredibly smart, and seems genuinely kind."

"That's my point," Rose said.

"And your dad's an ass," Scorpius responded. "Which is my point exactly."

"Excuse me," Ron put in as the table erupted into angry mutterings. "You're a guest here, are you not?"

Malfoy snorted. "If I'm basing my answer on your behavior, I'd have to say no. But then maybe you make a habit of being rude to your guests."

James glanced at Hunter, who was doubled up laughing. "And you thought I needed to bite _my_ tongue," she gasped out. "It's always nice to be reminded why we're friends," she added, patting Malfoy on the shoulder.

"Now listen here, you little-" Ron began, leaning toward Malfoy.

"Ron," Hermione cut in. "He does have a bit of a point."

Ron swung around to face her. "Excuse me. This little-"

"Ron," she snapped.

"He just called me an arse while contaminating our Weasley family reunion," Ron hollered.

Hermione said. "Yes, only moments after you called him – and all Malfoys – jerks. And don't," she said, when he opened his mouth, "defend yourself. I'm not saying his behavior was exemplary, but yours certainly hasn't been to him this summer." She eyed them both balefully. "I _do_ think we should all refrain from the outright insults, however."

"Of course," Malfoy said. "I apologize." James noticed that Malfoy directed his apology at Hermione instead of Ron, but he didn't plan to quibble over it.

Hermione turned expectantly to Ron, whose mouth worked like a fish.

"I'm not apologizing," Ron said finally. "He's a bloody Malfoy!"

"Ronald," she growled. "You are _not_ setting a good example for our children."

"Wouldn't worry about that too much," Malfoy said, shrugging. "I get the distinct impression they take after their mother," he commented, taking another bite.

James noticed a slight red tinge Rose's cheeks, and wondered if she was remembering that Malfoy had just called her mum pretty.

* * *

They made it through the rest of lunch without any further problem. Hunter and Malfoy drank steadily at their never ending beverages. The Weasleys were more than a bit annoyed with their guests, but Hunter and Malfoy just ignored everyone.

James hated to admit it, but he thought Hermione was probably right about Ron's behavior. He couldn't talk, of course. He was just coming to terms with the way he had treated Malfoy, and the fact that it may have been uncalled for. Ron was quite a bit older, though. And reasonably should have been a bit more responsible.

James glanced over when he heard a grunt. He rose to his feet and instinctively reached for his wand when he saw Malfoy tackle her. He checked himself when he saw her roll back onto her feet, laughing. She raised her fists in a fighting stance, obviously egging him on.

He watched them shadow box for a few moments, then Hunter spun around and managed to trip Malfoy up, bringing him down in one quick motion. James had to curb the desire to intervene as they wrestled around on the ground. He was fairly sure they were playing, but he didn't like it. And only in part because Malfoy was rolling around on the ground with his . . . whatever she was.


	24. Invisible

Rose sat with her cousins, chatting lightly. Lily had asked about the earlier conversation.

"I don't by it," Fred declared. "I bet they came up with a plan to make him seem cooler than he really is."

"What about that made him seem cool?" Molly asked.

Fred rolled his eyes. "All the talk about sex and bad girls. He's just trying to make himself seem more experienced than he really is."

"Do you think?" Lily asked.

Fred and Roxanne both nodded. "Definitely," Roxanne said. "Who would shag him, anyway?"

Rose glanced over at Scorpius, thinking probably quite a lot of girls would shag him.

"I dunno," Lily said. "He actually seems pretty decent." She looked at Rose for confirmation.

Rose nodded. "I was surprised at how thoughtful he was when he came to dinner at our house."

Fred snorted. "What, he opened doors for people?"

"No," Rose said. "I didn't mean that kind of thoughtful. I meant he actually thought about things. Like, world events and stuff. Most boys I know just talk about quidditch," she glanced at both Fred and James significantly.

"Based on tonight, it sounds like he thinks about sex," Fred pointed out.

"And doesn't even have the decency to call it that," Dominque added.

Rose sighed. "I can't say I like his assessment of women," she said. Naturally, her timing was horrible. She managed to say it right as Scorpius and Kimball walked by.

Scorpius paused. "I didn't mean it in an insulting way," he said. "I'd like it better if women went for the nice guys. I just don't think they do."

"We'll just have to agree to disagree," Rose suggested.

He eyed her for a moment. Cocking his head, he shoved his hands in his pockets. "Rose," he began. "Would you please go out with me?"

Rose stared at him. She knew she had turned bright red. "Umm . . . no thank you?" she said uncertainly, trying very hard not to look at her assembled cousins.

Scorpius nodded, seeming pleased. After a moment, he stepped forward, pulled her toward him, and kissed her. With tongue. At first Rose was too stunned to respond, but then she got her feet back under her. Unfortunately, her instinctive response was to kiss him back. After a mortifyingly long kiss in front of her family, _he_ pulled away. It was probably lucky, as Fred looked ready to charge.

Scorpius looked a bit apologetic as he pulled away. "I'm just saying, being nice never gets you anywhere."

She blinked at him, trying to process what just happened. Her mind couldn't really get past the kiss, however. "Did you have something in your mouth?" she asked. Fantastic, she thought. That _would_ be her response.

He looked baffled for a moment. Then Kimball started laughing. Rose had to resist the urge to run away.

"I think you should definitely give her a demonstration of all the wonderful benefits of having your tongue pierced," Kimball said.

Rose stared at her, then looked back at him. "You have your tongue pierced?" she asked. "Like the way girls get their ears pierced."

"Oh, honey, she called you a girl," Kimball said in a fake sympathetic voice. "That must be rough on your poor neglected ego."

Rose gave her a baffled look. "I didn't call her a girl. I mean him a girl," she corrected, horrified.

Kimball laughed again. "Well, you certainly did then. But he's got his ears pierced as well, so, you know, gi-irl," she affirmed in a sing-song voice.

Rose looked back at Scorpius, who most certainly didn't have his ears pierced. "I don't understand," she said.

"Oh, there's a spell on it so you can't see," Kimball explained. "Scorpius is far too willing to bow to wizard societal norms. Or at least pretend to. It hasn't stopped him getting his ears pierced – many times. Or his tongue pierced. Or his eyebrow. Then there's the labret. And of course he pierced his-"

"I think you've given her more than enough examples," he broke in.

Rose didn't think so. Now she'd forever want to know where else he'd decided to put invisible bits of metal.


	25. Any

"Come on, Rose," Hugo whined impatiently. "We're supposed to get to Kings Cross _before_ the train leaves."

"Hold your horses," Rose shouted back. She took one last look around her room, making sure she had remembered everything. Then she checked her reflection in the mirror on her wall. Sighing, she tried in vain to smooth down the frizz. "Ugh," she muttered, giving up. She wondered, not for the first time, why she had to inherit her mother's hair.

Turning toward the door, she hurried out of her room and down the stairs. Hugo waited fretfully at the bottom.

"About time," he said. "Dad's already loaded the car."

"Sorry," Rose told him. "I just wanted to make certain I didn't forget anything."

Hugo rolled his eyes. "Naturally," he said.

Rose strode over to the door. Stepping through, she glanced back at him. "Are you coming?" She smiled as she heard him curse at her. Little brothers were so easy to tease.

They both climbed into the car right as their dad started it up. "You both have everything?" Ron asked.

Rose and Hugo nodded in unison.

"Excellent," he said. "Off we go, then."

They rode in silence for a while. Usually their dad kept up a constant chatter when he drove them anywhere. Rose had a feeling she knew what had him so quiet today.

"So, Rosie" he said, clearing his throat. "You know what to do if Malfoy tries anything, yeah?"

Rose sighed. She met his eyes in the rearview mirror. "The same thing you tell me to do if _any_ boy tries anything?"

"Exactly," her dad agreed, with a sharp nod. Hugo sniggered next to her. "Kick him in the balls and then hit him with every spell you know."

Rose tried not to roll her eyes. "I'll keep it in mind," she said.

He looked less than pleased with her unenthusiastic response, but he didn't pursue the matter any further. She had a feeling he didn't like contemplating it.

* * *

When they got to Kings Cross, their dad unloaded their trunks. The made quick work of the barrier, and immediately started looking for the Potters. Luckily, Harry was always easy to spot. Even after so many years, he attracted constant attention.

Rose noticed that her dad seemed hesitant to join his best friend, and she had a feeling it might have been because of a certain blond boy that stood with him. She and Hugo, however, had no such hesitation.

They went over to say hello to their cousins. Ron came with them, but said nothing. He glared at Malfoy. Rose had a horrible feeling he was going to do something to humiliate her.

She hugged and kissed her aunt and uncle, waved at Lily and James, and then dragged Albus off to find a compartment. Being Albus, he came without complaint.

"Where's the fire?" he asked, when they'd gotten a safe distance away.

Rose did roll her eyes now. "Ugh," she said. "He's going to do something embarrassing. I'm certain of it."

Albus laughed. "What's new about that?"

"Embarrassing in general is one thing," she explained. "Mortifying is another. He spent the entire second half of the summer drilling me on how to react if any guy, ever, tries to kiss me. Honestly, I'm surprised he hasn't started looking into convents."

"Yeah," Albus said. "It would have been bad regardless. But that your first kiss was Malfoy . . . ."

"Who said that was my first kiss?" she asked, blushing.

He gave her a look. "Please," he said.

She pushed her hair behind her ears, once again annoyed by the frizz. "Just because I think it's important to take school seriously-"

"And never have any fun at all," he continued.

"I have fun!" she protested. "It just doesn't usually involve fusing my mouth to someone else's."

"Doesn't ever involve that, actually," he clarified.

She glared at him. "Are you done?" she asked in a prim tone.

He nodded, looking apologetic. "I'm just teasing, Rose. Truly. If you went around focused on boys all the time, I really don't think I'd want to spend time with you."

She guessed she shouldn't mention that she had thought about boys – well, _boy_ – an awful lot lately. Maybe she'd just keep that to herself.


	26. Blush

Rose and Albus went to join Amy Bones and Keiron Creevey in their usual compartment. They both demanded to know, immediately, how the summer had gone.

Albus shrugged. "It wasn't bad," he said.

Amy raised her eyebrows. "So James didn't kill anyone?" she asked, surprised.

"Shockingly, no," Albus told her. "He did get caught –"

Rose punched him. "Fighting with Kimball Hunter," she finished for him. "Which everyone should have expected." She tried to communicate with him silently. He really shouldn't be running around gossiping about other people's private lives.

"Wait, so he had a bigger problem with Hunter than Malfoy?" Keiron asked, disbelieving.

Albus shrugged. "Hunter . . . made less of an effort to be friendly than Malfoy did."

"I could see how that might have happened," Amy nodded.

"Did you have any problems with them?" Keiron asked, leaning forward.

Albus shook his head. "Nope. Hunter wasn't exactly a joy, but I didn't have any issues with her. And Malfoy was fine."

Rose tried not to nod enthusiastically. Albus shot her a knowing look, but kindly refrained from mentioning the . . . incident.

* * *

Scorpius caught up with her in the hall on the way to the Great Hall. Rose tried not to act too surprised.

"Hey," he said, looking a bit awkward. "I just wanted to, um, apologize. You know, for kissing you the, uh, the way I did. I wasn't thinking all that clearly, and sometimes I take trying to prove my point a bit too far."

"Oh, no. It was fine," Rose responded. "Or, I mean I didn't mind." She felt her eyes go wide. "Not that I liked it. I mean," she corrected again when his eyebrows rose. "I didn't not like it, or like it. I just, I meant I wasn't angry about it."

Scorpius nodded, slowly. "OK?" he said in an uncertain tone. "I just wanted to make it clear that I don't usually have a problem taking no for an answer. And that," he shrugged, "well, obviously it was embarrassing. So, I just wanted to say I'm sorry for that."

"Yeah, me too," Rose said, trying to smooth out some of her frizz. Naturally, the first boy that ever kisses her, and he's embarrassed about it.

He looked confused again. "Right . . ." he said. "Well, I'm glad we've sorted all that out. I should probably," he said, and he pointed vaguely in the direction of the Great Hall. She stared at his face, trying to imagine the bits of metal she knew were there.

"Can I see?" she blurted out, before he could leave. She immediately turned a furious shade of red.

"See what?" he asked, glancing behind him.

She cleared her throat, regretting her moment of insanity. "The um, the piercings Kimball mentioned," she mumbled.

His eyebrows went up. "Umm . . ."

"It's just, well, a bit odd. You know, to know that what I see when I look at you isn't really how you are. For instance, she said you had an eyebrow piercing." Hers eyes scanned his face. "But I don't see anything at all. And obviously, I know about your tongue." He smiled. "The piercing, I mean," she clarified in a panic. "Because I could feel it . . ." she tried not to vomit. "But I still can't see it," she finished lamely, wishing she hadn't spoken at all.

He examined her for a moment. Shrugging, he pulled out his wand and waved it in a complicated motion. He didn't say anything, but Rose had the distinct impression he was doing a nonverbal spell.

Almost immediately, bits of metal appeared in his face. He had one in his eyebrow, one below his lip, and a long bar through the top of his ear.

"Oh," she said. "I thought . . . For some reason, the way she talked about it, I thought there would be more."

He scratched just under his ear. "Sorry to disappoint," he said.

"No, I didn't mean that," she told him. "I don't really know what I was expecting exactly. But you look good. I mean," she thought she might actually catch on fire, her face was so hot, "they look good on you, which surprised me. I thought they might be a little, well, frightening."

He smiled fully this time. "No more so than you having your ears pierced, really."

"Somehow I don't believe that," she said. "I can't imagine letting anyone do that to my tongue." She shivered. "Did it hurt?"

He shrugged. "Not much," he said. "And it's not like it's drawn out, like a tattoo."

She stared at him. "Do you have a tattoo as well?"

"A few," he said, nodding slightly.

She opened her mouth to ask if she could see those as well, but then decided she had embarrassed herself enough for one day. "Do you mind if I ask a question?" she inquired instead.

"Not in the least," he said, waving her on.

"Why?" she asked. "Why would you do something that hurts like this, if you're just going to make it invisible? What's the point?"

He shrugged. "To be honest, I think anything that alters your body should be about what you want, not what other people want to see. But, it's sort of a moot point, as the piercings are only invisible to wizards and witches. Muggles can see them just fine."

"So you hide them from us because you think we won't approve?" she asked.

"No," he said, obviously thinking it over. "It has more to do with how much I'm likely to be inconvenienced. Muggles may make snap judgments about a person based on their piercings, but wizards don't know what to make of this sort of thing at all. It would be a constant issue. And there's no sense in dealing with it if I can just avoid it all together."

Rose was going to respond, but Amy happened by. She gave Rose a baffled look upon finding her with Malfoy.

"Are you coming to the feast?" she asked, eying the Slytherin suspiciously.

"Of course," Rose said. "I was just heading that way."

Scorpius smiled. "I should be off too," he said. He nodded politely at Amy, and then headed in the direction of the Great Hall. Amy watched him leave. Rose watched Amy for her reaction.

"Since when are you friendly with Malfoy?" Amy asked.

Rose shrugged. "He spent the summer with my cousins," she said. "You know that."

"And now you're friends?" Amy squeaked.

"Not exactly," Rose said, trying to force the frizz to stay behind her ears for once. "We're more . . . acquaintances who are on more friendly terms than we are friends."

Amy looked unconvinced.

"He seemed pretty nice, over the summer," she said, feeling awkward. She thought the blush would go away once he left.

Amy stared at her for a long time. "Please tell me you aren't interested in him."

"Of course not," Rose lied through her teeth. "I just said he was nice."

"Alright," Amy said, clearly still suspicious. "We should go."

Rose nodded, relieved to have a way out of the conversation.

* * *

_A/N So, I'm crap at summaries (you may have noticed) which is why I tend to just copy and paste a bit of random dialogue in. Does anyone have a suggestion for a summary for this story? It would be much appreciated. If I get more than one suggestion, I'll probably just change them around each time I update. _


	27. Announcements

They hurried to the Great Hall, not wanting to miss the sorting. According to her parents, the feast used to happen immediately upon arrival on September 1st. Now the train came a touch earlier, so that the older students had a short while to settle in before dinner. It also gave the faculty an opportunity to prepare the first years for the sorting.

Rose and Amy headed straight for the Gryffindor table, taking a seat near Albus and James. The brothers were talking excitedly.

"What is it?" Amy asked.

James jerked his head toward the high table. "Teddy," he said.

Rose swiveled her head around. "Oh my. What do you think he's doing here?" she asked.

Albus turned toward her, smiling brilliantly. "Maybe he's teaching," he speculated.

James eyed Teddy, considering. "More likely to be a substitute or something, maybe while they look for a permanent Defense teacher."

Amy nodded. "He is a bit young to take a permanent post."

"Snape was young," Albus said.

Rose thought it over. "Yes, but Dumbledore had him working as a spy," she said. "So it made sense to give him the job. He had turned him down before that all became part of the picture."

"Yeah, but Teddy's older than Snape was at the time," Albus argued. "He's twenty-five! That's ancient."

James rolled his eyes, but looked pleased with the idea of Teddy being a teacher at Hogwarts.

"Yeah, but wouldn't he have told us?" Rose asked.

Albus shook his head. "That's just like him, to surprise us with something like this."

Rose didn't have an argument for that, so she settled for watching the sorting. She cheered with the rest of the Gryffindors as each student was sorted into their house. She and her family all hollered twice as loud as their cousin Lucy joined them at the table. She was the last of this generation of Weasley's to join Gryffindor.

Rose thought it had to be true that the hat took a student's preference into account when sorting. Otherwise, she and Luce would definitely be in Ravenclaw. And Albus would probably be a Hufflepuff, being unstintingly loyal. She smiled, thinking it might be funny to tell James he would do well in Slytherin. She decided it wouldn't be worth the fight, though. And probably wouldn't be true, at any rate. James definitely valued bravery above most anything else.

Rose brought her attention back to the feast when Headmistress Sprout rose to make a speech.

"I'll keep my comments short," the professor said, smiling. "I wanted to introduce you to a new staff member this year. Professor Lupin will be taking the post of Defense Against the Dark Arts teacher," she informed the student body. The Gryffindor table exploded into applause.

Professor Sprout smiled, obviously pleased. Teddy waved at everyone, clearly appreciating the warm welcome.

"I would also like to mention that we'll be instituting some new evening courses. Your heads of house will discuss them with you when they give you your schedules," she told them. "Finally," she continued, "the usual announcement all remain true. The forbidden forest, is, in fact, forbidden. As are all the items listed on the caretaker's office door."

She seemed to think it over for a minute. Apparently deciding she had said enough, she nodded sharply. "Well, then. Let's eat," she declared, and food appeared like magic.

Rose smiled. She had always enjoyed the start of term feast. She couldn't believe she only had one left in her Hogwarts career. She'd have to make the most of the next two years.

* * *

James caught up with Hunter in a deserted corridor. "Hey," he said, moving in closer.

"Really, the stalking thing, not healthy," she told him.

He smiled slightly, stepping toward her. "People keep commenting on my health these days. I didn't know you were all so concerned."

Hunter tilted her head slightly, eying him. It was a dangerous look, inviting and distracting at the same time. It was also the exact same look she had given him just before she kicked him in the balls. He shifted slightly, ensuring he could block any shots she might take. He saw her lips curve slightly and tried not to curse. Leave it to him to go for a girl who liked that she inspired fear in him.

"Potter," she said, drawing her hand down the front of his shirt. "I was under the impression you had sworn me off. Something to do with your father."

"That was over the summer," he said, backing her up against the wall. "He's not protecting you now."

"Ahh," she said, leaning back and looking up at him. "So I'm supposed to just dance to your every whim?"

"I could be wrong," he said, placing his hands flat against the wall on either side of her head, "but I've never had the impression it's a chore for you."

She tilted her head again. "Mmm . . ." she said. "No, not a chore. But . . . I have my standards. You never really met them," she told him, straightening his shirt. "And," she shrugged. "No girl likes to realize she's the more disposable of the pair."

He opened his mouth, then closed it again. He sighed, shaking his head. "The one time – ever – that I'm responsible, and you're going to punish me for it?"

She ducked under his arm. "I guess it's a double-edged sword," she called over her shoulder, "being Harry Potter's son."

"Hunter," he tried, but she simply walked away. He didn't know whether to be relieved or concerned that she didn't give him the finger as she did so.

* * *

_A/N Thanks to Future Author for the current summary. _


	28. Cultural Studies

Rose sat with Albus and Amy for breakfast the first morning back. She saw James enter, looking exhausted, and wondered vaguely if he'd caught up with Hunter the night before. Involuntarily, she glanced over at the Slytherin table. Her eyes found Scorpius immediately. Hunter sat next to him, chatting lightly and picking at her food. Rose wondered whether those two had caught up on their own . . . _relationship_.

When she saw Professor Longbottom coming toward her, she forced her mind back to her own table.

"Good morning," he said, sitting down next to Albus. "Did you all have a lovely summer?"

Albus nodded. "Not bad at all," he said. "I'm surprised you didn't come round at some point."

"I wish I could have," Neville told them, looking sincere, "but ever since I've became Deputy Headmaster, I find I just never manage to make time for myself." He shook his head. "I'm going to work on it, though."

Albus nodded. "Mum was talking about inviting you round for Christmas," he said, glancing at James for confirmation.

James nodded slightly, looking unenthusiastic. Rose heard Albus kick him under the table. She guessed Neville did as well, since he smiled slightly at the noise.

"Yeah," James said. "We'd love to have you." He didn't sound any more enthusiastic than he looked.

"Are you well, James?" Neville asked.

James nodded. "Yeah. Sorry. I just didn't get a lot of sleep last night." He rolled his shoulders. "Couldn't seem to relax."

"Ah, well, you'll get back into the swing of things," Neville told him. "Speaking of, I have class assignments for you all." He handed each of them a parchment.

"What's 'Muggle Cultural Studies' mean?" Rose asked. "I already have Muggle Studies."

James rolled his eyes. "So they added a word. What's the big deal?"

Rose shook her head. "No," she said. "It's different. I still have muggle studies. This one is in the evening. Five nights a week. It must be what Professor Sprout was talking about last night."

Professor Longbottom nodded his head. "You're only required to attend one of the options throughout the term. It's a new policy we're trying out. We want to introduce wizards and witches to muggle culture: art, music, literature. That sort of thing. There are different options. We're going to have you attend all five classes the first week, and then you can choose the one that suits you best."

"Shouldn't this just be required for Slytherins?" James asked.

Professor Longbottom gave him a look. "Slytherin isn't the only house that has produced intolerant wizards and witches. Any, besides, the goal isn't just to discourage pureblood mania. It's also to introduce young witches and wizards to areas of the world previously unknown to them. I'm hoping you'll find it quite enjoyable."

James did not look the least bit convinced, but Rose smiled back at the professor. "I think it's a lovely idea," she said. "Muggle culture gets almost entirely ignored in Muggle Studies, since they have to spend so much time discussing how muggles get by without magic."

"Exactly," Neville said, pleased. "Well," he began, "I'd best get on with it."

Rose waved goodbye as he rose to go speak with other students. She turned to the Potter boys. "What do you think?"

"I think it sounds like another class," James complained.

Albus shrugged. "I don't know. It could be alright or it could be terrible. Depends a lot on what we study and who teaches us."

"Well," Rose said. "I, for one, am looking forward to it."

* * *

True to form, Rose was extremely excited before the first Muggle Culture class. The school had decided to hold the first week of classes on the quidditch pitch, as good weather still favored them and the school had no classrooms large enough to fit the entire student body.

Rose noticed that a number of students looked angry about the new classes as they filed into the stands. The disgruntled students ranged beyond the borders of Slytherin, as well.

She and Albus sat fairly close to the front. This class had been dubbed 'Muggle Literature.' Rose thought she might attend this one permanently. Of course, Muggle Music also sounded good. As did Muggle Art and Muggle Entertainment. She didn't think she'd be all that interested in Muggle Sports, but she would wait to pass judgment until Friday.

"Good evening, ladies and gentleman," Rose's Muggle Studies teacher, Professor Totleran, began. "Welcome to option one in the Muggle Cultural Studies Series. Tonight I'll give you an overview of what you can expect if you choose to take Muggle Literature. Please, make yourselves comfortable. And don't be afraid to raise your hand if you have a question or are finding it at all difficult to hear me."

Rose looked over in surprise when a hand went up immediately.

"Yes?" Professor Totleran called on the seventh year who spoke up.

"How come we don't have a choice about this?" the boy asked. Rose didn't recognize him, but she guessed from the look on James face nearby that her cousin knew him. And didn't like him.

Professor Totleran smiled, as she always did. "Well, you do have a choice about _which_ class you take. It's a bit like having to take a minimum number of classes, but getting a say in which ones you choose. And for the younger students, it actually allows for more of a choice than the rest of your schedule, which is entirely mandatory."

"Yes, but this has nothing to do with magic," the seventh year said.

Professor Totleran considered the boy for a minute. "I would like to see you all embrace the subject, but for those of you who are tentative, I'll give you this incentive. The Ministry of Magic has laws against giving away the existence of magic. Understanding muggle culture will help prevent accidental violations of the associated laws. At a minimum, this class should help keep you out of Azkaban."

Rose couldn't help glancing at the smattering of student whose parents or grandparents had been sent to the prison after the last war.

"In the case of this particular class, it will give you an overview of muggle literature. We will focus primarily on English Literature, with some American novels and poetry thrown in. We will also do a short survey of world literature. With any luck, by the end of today's class, I'll have at least a few converts."

Rose felt quite sure she would be one of them.


	29. After Class

After the first Muggle Culture class, Rose decided to stay behind and talk to Professor Totleran. She wanted to ask if she could stay in more than one class if she wanted to.

Rose looked over and saw that Scorpius Malfoy and Kimball Hunter had also stayed behind. She walked up close enough to hear their conversation.

"If I'm muggleborn, am I exempt from this whole thing?" Kimball asked.

Professor Totleran shook her head. "No, my dear. You will actually be an incredibly valuable asset. It will be extremely important to have muggleborns in the different classes, so the wizardborn students can benefit from your input, opinions, and experience."

"So I have to waste my time taking classes on things I already know just fine?" Kimball clarified.

Professor Totleran nodded. "I hope you'll approach it with a good attitude. I believe it will be just as beneficial for muggleborns to understand common wizard misconceptions about muggles as it will be for wizardborns to correct those misconceptions."

"Fantastic," Hunter said, obviously irritated. She turned to Scorpius. "I'll see you later, yeah?"

He nodded, apparently having his own issues to discuss with the teacher.

Professor Totleran turned to him. "And are you also going to try to convince me to let you avoid this new requirement?"

Scorpius shook his head. "I was just wondering if the classes will be open all term."

"How so?" the professor asked for clarification.

Scorpius scratched just under his ear. "I guess, I'm wondering if we'll be able to drop in on classes we aren't taking for a grade."

Professor Totleran raised her eyebrows. "Well," she said, considering the matter. "It would really be best if you chose one class and stayed with it. Then we would all know which issues had already been covered and all of that." She thought it over for a minute. "I see no reason at all why you couldn't enroll in multiple options, but you would need to do all of the work."

Scorpius nodded. "I can understand that," he said. "I guess I was thinking in terms of the sports class. I'm assuming you'll have a practical class or two, and – depending on the sport – it might be fun to join in."

"Ah," the professor said, tapping her chin. "That's an idea." She tilted her head, considering it. "It would be especially helpful to have those students already familiar with the sports act as coaches, captains, and referees."

"Well, just let me know," Scorpius said. He excused himself politely, smiled and Rose, and then started toward the castle.

"Yes, Rose?" her professor asked, thankfully failing to notice how distracting Rose found his smile.

"Oh," Rose said. "I was going to ask if I could enroll in multiple classes, but you answered it just now." Rose smiled brightly. "Thank you!"

Professor Totleran nodded. "Of course," she said.

Rose gave her a wave, turned on her heel, and hurried after Scorpius. When she came within a close enough distance, she slowed her frantic pace. Catching up to him at a more respectable speed, she fell into step beside him.

"So, are you excited about these classes?" Rose asked, bouncing a little.

He smiled at her again. "Not particularly," he said, shrugging.

Rose felt herself deflate. She had figured they had an interest in the new classes in common, if nothing else.

"Oh," she said. "I thought since, well, since you're involved with Kimball, that you'd like the idea of studying muggle culture."

He looked surprised. "Involved?" he repeated.

She nodded. "She mentioned that you two had . . ." Rose certainly wasn't going to use Kimball's phrase.

Scorpius laughed out loud. "Ah. Yeah. She did mention that, didn't she?" He shook his head. "Nah, we aren't _involved_. Once upon a time, I was young and stupid, sort of. Then I learned that it's not a good idea to mix sex and friendship. At least not if the friend is important to you. There's too high a risk of it messing things up."

"Oh," Rose said, trying not to look too pleased. "So you two aren't together?"

He shook his head. "Nope. Even if I was willing to bend that rule sometimes, I wouldn't with Kim. I've had ample time to realize she drives men out of their minds."

Rose raised her eyebrows, immediately becoming concerned for James. "How so?" she asked.

He shrugged. "I don't know, exactly, as we've always been friends. It's hard for me to guess how a bloke would feel about her if he'd just met her for the first time." He rubbed at his neck. "People get a bit obsessive about her. I think it's something to do with wanting what they can't have."

Rose looked at the ground. "Please don't take this the wrong way, but I don't understand that at all. It seems like she is something they can have." She rushed on to clarify. "I don't mean anyone could, mind. I just mean, the boys she gets involved with."

"Like your cousin," Scorpius said, looking annoyed. He sighed. "The thing is, he doesn't really get her, does he? He gets whatever bits and pieces she's willing to share, but only on her terms."

Rose gave him a skeptical look.

"Assuming you take judgment altering substances out of the equation," Scorpius said. "My point is, I don't get the impression they chat, or hang out. I'll bet he knows almost nothing about her."

She sighed. "As hard as it is to admit, I don't think James would be interested in those things."

Scorpius nodded. "That's my point, exactly. The blokes who seem like they'll be just fine with her keeping them at arms length end up having the hardest time with it. I'll bet James is used to girls clinging to him. Hunter shoves him away." He shrugged. "Which is what I meant about wanting what they can't have." He shook his head, glancing away. "It's amazing how possessive blokes get about her. Especially when you consider that she never suggests their anything other than fuckbuddies."

"Oh," Rose said, unable to come up with anything better. "I wouldn't think – and again, I mean no disrespect to her – but I wouldn't think men would be all that inclined to hang out with her, just talking and whatnot. She's . . . Well, I'm a little frightened of her."

He laughed again.

"Please don't tell her I said that," Rose pleaded.

He shook his head. "Your secret's safe with me." He smiled. "You needn't be frightened of her. Kim's like an M&M. Hard candy shell, soft chocolate center." He thought about it for a minute. "Well, she's like an M&M with several extra coatings of hard candy shell."

Rose glanced at him out of the corner of her eye. "I don't know what an M&M is," she told him, trying not to blush at her own ignorance.

"Oh," he said, looking surprised. "I figured since your mum was a muggleborn . . ." He shrugged, moving on. "Well, it's a sort of muggle candy."

"Oh, right. With a hard candy shell," she said. "I've never had one."

"Ah." He glanced at her. "That's a shame. But my point is just that she's not as mean as she seems. Her bark is a lot worse than her bite. Well, her bite might actually be worse than her bark, but she never bites people who don't deserve it. She barks at everyone."

Rose smiled. "I'll keep that in mind." She looked up to see that castle looming above them. She should have walked slower, so she could keep talking to him. Instead, they went inside and parted ways. At least now she knew he wasn't shagging Hunter. And that little tidbit would probably keep her happy for days.


	30. R&R

He was waiting in the Room of Requirement when she came in. He watched her pause by the mirror and consider her clothes. When she moved to strip off her shirt, he decided he should probably announce himself.

"You don't have to change on my account," he said, watching her swing around in alarm.

"What do you want, Potter?" she asked.

He stepped toward her. "The same thing I wanted last night. And the night before that. And the night before that." He caged her in. "You might be sensing a trend."

"I'm sure there are lots of girls who can satisfy your . . . itch," she told him, refusing to allow their bodies to touch.

"I don't think so," he said, leaning in and brushing his mouth across hers, so it was the only part of them that touched. "I think there's really only you."

He kissed her again, thinking it was pathetic how relieved he was when she pulled him closer. This girl had her claws in him way too deep.

* * *

He woke up sprawled across a massive bed in the Room of Requirement. Hunter was gone, of course. He'd known before he even opened his eyes. She had been there, tangled up with him, when he'd fallen asleep, but she hadn't stayed.

He rolled out of bed, pleased to find a bathroom behind one of the many doors in her version of the room of requirement. He wondered vaguely if she had gone on to London or back to her dorm, but decided that dwelling on it would only frustrate him more.

He showered and dresses in some of the clothes the room provided. He wondered how the room worked. Were the clothes always in there, waiting for someone to require them? Or did the room create them in moments of necessity?

He dressed quickly and hurried out of the room. He made a quick side trip to his dorm, where he returned the knowing looks from his dormmates. They would know he had spent the night with a girl, but none of them would have been able to guess which girl. Or that _she_ hadn't actually spent the night.

"You going down to breakfast?" Bell asked.

James nodded, grabbing his book bag. "You?"

"Just leaving now," Thomas answered, and the three of them set off together.

"You haven't told us about your summer," Bell pointed out.

Thomas turned to James. "There's a rumor going around that you were stuck with both Malfoy and Hunter for the entire holiday."

"Yep," James said, not really wanting to talk about it.

"Bloody hell, mate," Thomas sympathized. "Did you at least prank them like mad?"

James shook his head. "Nah. My mum and dad wanted us to play nice."

Bell laughed. "I'd play nice with Hunter," he said, wiggling his eyebrows. "After those illustrations in the toilets," he said, looking up at the ceiling. "Bloody hell. I'd give anything to shag that one."

"She'd cut your fucking nuts off and feed them to you first," James growled.

Bell and Thomas both looked shocked. "Damn. A summer together didn't soften your opinion of her at all," Thomas commented.

Bell nodded. "Yeah. I was just saying she looks good. I didn't mean to give you the impression I liked her. She's still a slimy snake."

James didn't want to clarify that he didn't have a problem with Hunter so much as the idea of Bell shagging Hunter, so he kept his mouth shut. He slid into a seat across from Albus and Rose. "Morning," he said.

"Morning," Rose replied cheerfully. "What did you think of the class last night?"

James shrugged. "Eh."

"I don't see why they have to make us go to each one for the first week. It's fine if they want to require it and all," Thomas said. "But I already know which one I want to take."

"Muggle Entertainment –"

"Muggle Music –"

"Muggle Sports – "

"Muggle Art –"

"All of them –"

They all laughed. "All of them, Rose?" Thomas teased. "You don't get enough accolades in your usual classes?"

Rose shrugged, blushing. "I just think each one will be fascinating. I'm not as excited about Muggle Sports as Bertram here, but I still think I could learn a lot."

James shook his head. "Leave it to you, Rose."

"I think it's nice Rose is so enthusiastic about these things," Bell said, smiling at her.

James eyed him suspiciously. First he makes a crack about shagging Hunter, and then he starts making eyes at Rose. He'd have to watch out for Bell this year.

James glanced up as Malfoy approached.

"Hey, Weasley," Malfoy called, getting her attention. The moment he had it, he tossed her a bag of something. "M&M's," he said, smiling.

She grinned back at him. "Thanks," she said.

"Sure," he replied, nodding to James and Albus, and then kept walking.

* * *

He waited for her again that night. He couldn't be sure, but he thought she may have been expecting him. She certainly didn't seem surprised to find him there.

"Don't get any ideas," she said, walking over to him.

He smiled. "Wouldn't dream of it," he agreed,

"You're just convenient," she told him, pushing him back onto the bed.

He watched her crawl onto it after him. "I'm going to blush if you keep throwing around compliments like that."

"I really don't think the talking is necessary," she said, leaning down to kiss him.

He decided she was probably right.


	31. Hideous

Rose checked her reflection in the mirror. The potion had worked as well as Amy claimed it would. Taking a deep breath, she stepped out into the dorm.

Amy clapped her hands together, smiling brightly. "It looks fantastic," she said, rushing over to play with Rose's hair. "Smooth and sleek, just like I said."

Rose nodded. "Thanks for getting it for me," she said.

Amy grinned. "What are friends for?" she commented with a shrug. "Anyway, I can't wait to see everyone's reaction. Especially Bertram."

"Why especially Bertram?" Rose asked.

Amy shook her head. "Honestly, Rose. For someone so smart, you're absolutely oblivious. He likes you."

Rose rolled her eyes. "He's friends with me. Which is what all guys are. Boys like him like girls like you. It's a given. They don't like the brains."

"Are you saying I don't have brains?" Amy asked in a threatening voice.

"No," Rose said, not even bothering to sound contrite. "I'm saying you're the whole package. I'm just brains."

"Don't be stupid," Amy told her. "You're funny, and pretty, and sweet, and everything else any guy with brains would like."

"So you're telling me I just have to find the male version of me, is all," Rose joked. "A guy who's all brains, so he doesn't know any better when it comes to the rest."

"Is that why you like Malfoy?" Amy asked. "Because you don't know any better?"

Rose glared at her. "I never said I liked Malfoy."

"Of course not," Amy replied sarcastically. "You just blush whenever he's around, and look for every excuse to talk to him. It doesn't help that he gives you candy and things."

"He didn't give me candy." Rose huffed out a breath at Amy's look. "Fine, it wasn't like he gave me chocolates and flowers. He gave me a bag of M&Ms because it came up in conversation and I said I hadn't ever tried them. He was being thoughtful."

"Oh my god," Amy groaned. "When a girl says a boy was thoughtful, it's the ball game. The end. She's done for."

"Anyway," Rose said, moving on. "It's not like he'd ever be interested. According to Hunter, he goes for bad girls. And no one in their right mind would call me that," Rose pointed out.

"Well that's something, at least," Amy muttered.

"What's your problem with him anyway?" Rose asked, trying not to sound too defensive.

Amy looked shocked. "You mean, other than the fact that he's a Slytherin and a _Malfoy_?" Amy snapped. "Oh, let's see. What about the fact that he's obviously stringing you along to try to make a fool of you?"

"Right," Rose said, blinking back tears. "The thing is, you can't claim that any guy would like me _and_ that the only guy who's ever shown an interest is just doing it to be cruel. The second gives the lie to the first."

"Rose," Amy said, looking apologetic. "I didn't mean-"

"No, it's fine," Rose said, grabbing her bag. "I need to get to class anyway."

She left before Amy could say anything else.

* * *

"Hey," Rose said, awkwardly approaching Scorpius and Kimball in Defense Against the Dark Arts. "Do you mind if I sit with you?"

"Trouble in the Gryffindor ranks?" Hunter asked.

Scorpius elbowed her. "Of course you can," he said.

"Thanks," Rose responded, taking a seat. She ignored the looks the other Gryffindors were sending her. She saw Amy whisper something to Albus, and pointedly turned away.

"Your hair looks nice," Hunter told her, apparently trying to make amends.

Rose smiled. "Thanks," she said. "I thought I'd try something new." She worked very hard not to glance at Scorpius to see what he thought.

"It's definitely new," Scorpius said, reaching out the touch a stray strand. Rose held her breath. "It just doesn't seem quite like you, though." He smiled. "I'm not sure how I feel about that."

Rose tried not to let her feelings show on her face. Of course he wouldn't like it. Everyone and their mother had said it looked good, but he didn't think it was "her." Which obviously meant he thought she was meant to have bad hair. She sighed. "I haven't really decided how I feel about it either," she said, after a moment.

"Well class," Teddy said, looking up from grading papers. "It looks like you're in for another wonderful lesson on Defense Against the Dark Arts." Rose saw him note her choice of seats, but he was good enough not to comment. "I'd like you all to pair up in twos."

Rose glanced at Kimball and Scorpius, knowing she would be the odd man out. To her surprise, Scorpius smiled.

"I'm sure we can do three," he said, unconcerned.

"Actually, I was thinking I'd partner with Rose, if you don't mind," someone said from behind her. Rose turned and saw Adon Zabini standing there.

She smiled, always willing to give someone a chance. "That sounds great," she said.

She thought Scorpius looked a little put out, but that may have just been what she wanted to see.

She set up with Zabini and they practiced dueling, using the most recent spells they had mastered. She took him more often than not, but he dealt with it well. She found herself surprised at how charming and self-effacing he was.

She tried not to notice the even dirtier looks she was getting from the Gryffindors for partnering with Zabini. It seemed strange that they'd be angrier about him than Scorpius. Zabinis weren't as poorly thought of by the Gryffindors as Malfoys were.

* * *

At the end of class, Zabini caught her hand before she could go pack up. "Listen," he said. "Would you like to go to Hogsmeade with me on Saturday? After the match?"

She opened her mouth to turn him down, and then decided against it. After all, she'd never been on a date before. Who knew when she'd get another chance? "Sure," she said. "I'd like that."

He smiled at her. She had a feeling he knew exactly how effective his smile was. "Great," he said. "I'll see you at the Three Broomsticks then? Right after the match?"

She nodded, and he went to go pack up his things.

She walked back over the table, wondering how her first date would go.

"What was that about?" Scorpius asked, watching Zabini leave with his friends.

Rose smiled. "He was just asking me to go to Hogsmeade with him on Saturday."

"What did he say when you told him no?" he asked.

Rose raised her eyebrows. "Nothing. I told him I'd like to."

Scorpius blinked at her. "Are you out of you mind?" he asked

"No, thank you," she responded primly. "I think I'm quite in my right mind. Why should I have said no?"

Scorpius stared at her. "He's not a nice guy, Rose. He's obviously got some sort of plan in mind-"

"Why does everyone think that?" Rose snapped. "That if someone acts like he likes me, it means he's planning something horrible. Am I really _so_ hideous that no one can comprehend the possibility someone might actually _want_ to go on a date with me?"

"Of course not," Scorpius spluttered. "I'm just saying in his case-"

"I'm not interested in what you're saying," Rose told him. And she walked out of the room with her chin held high.

* * *

_A/N - Please read and review. The best way to get me to screw up my priorities and write instead of pack is to review, review, review. Or possibly, don't, because I should act like I'm a real grown up. Sigh. _


	32. Deal

James lazily watched her dress. "You know," he said, rolling out of bed, pulling on jeans, and walking over to the closet to idly flip through her clothes, "we could always just sleep here. It would make a morning shag a lot more practical."

"Who says I want to shag you in the morning?" she asked, pulling back her hair.

He glanced at her. "You always want to shag me. It's the one thing we're both consistent about." He continued flipping through the clothes, stopping dead when he came to some black lingerie.

"I'm not sure you can say that, exactly," she said, slipping into her shoes. "I have a mind body disconnect where you're concerned. My brain definitely says no. So, really only half of me always wants to shag you."

James had stopped listening almost entirely. "Any chance you're willing to wear this?" he asked.

She eyed the lingerie. "No," she said, without giving it any further thought.

"You'd look incredible in it," he told her.

"I know," she said, straightening out the last of her clothes. "But I'm not actually here to fulfill your every fantasy."

"I don't know, you've come pretty damn close so far," he commented, earning a slight upward turn of her mouth. "How about we make a bet? If Gryffindor beats Ravenclaw on Saturday, you wear it."

She glanced at him. "You already want Gryffindor to win. That's not a bet. That's like an extra prize." She smiled wickedly. "Now, if you'd like to bet on Ravenclaw . . ."

"I'm not betting against my own team. I'm the bloody captain," he said.

"Hmm . . ." she reached over and ran a finger along the edge of the lace. "Too bad. It might have been fun."

He glanced at the ensemble he was holding, then back up to her. "I guess I could look at it like a consolation prize."

She raised her eyebrows.

"A really, really good consolation prize," he told her, smiling winningly.

She rolled her eyes. "Is it a bet, then?"

"Ravenclaw wins, you wear this?" he said.

She nodded.

"Deal."

* * *

"What's your deal?" Albus asked.

Rose glanced at him. "What do you mean?"

"First, you're fighting with Amy," he said, marking it off on his fingers. "Then you're fighting with Malfoy. Now you're _dating_ Zabini! Did you actually go completely mad?"

Rose glared at him. "I'm not dating Zabini," she clarified. "I have agreed to go on a date – singular – with him."

"Right," he said. "Important distinction," he added sarcastically. "You still haven't answered my question."

"What my deal is? Why do I have to have a deal? I think I should be allowed to be mad at Amy. I have a right to my bloody feelings, you know. And I don't see how you're being a supportive cousin if you have a problem with me standing up for myself."

He sighed. "Amy told me what she said-" he began.

"Great," she groaned. "So the whole school can know that even my best friend thinks I'm undatable. I thought she'd at least have the decency to keep her opinions to herself."

"She doesn't think you're undatable, Rose," he corrected her. "She thinks Malfoy's an ass, who doesn't deserve you. Which it sounds like Malfoy thinks about Zabini."

"Malfoy just can't imagine why anyone would want to date me if it wasn't to play a cruel joke," Rose whispered.

"Is that what this is about?" Albus asked. "Because I don't think you should let your feelings for Malfoy lead you to date Zabini. Really. If a Slytherin says another Slytherin is a bad guy, I think you should take it seriously."

"Everyone thinks all Slytherins are monsters. I happen to disagree. And I don't see why I should value other people's opinions above my own," Rose told him.

He nodded. "I can understand that. I'm just saying, you should give Amy a chance to tell you she's sorry. And," he shrugged slightly, "that whatever happens on Saturday, you have friends who love you. Whether you end up dating a Slytherin or not."

Rose nodded. "Thanks, Albus."

"That's what family's for, right?" he said, smiling.

* * *

_A/N - Thank you for the reviews. They made me smile. Also, made me put off the many things I need to do. You guys are what I like to call enablers. Keep up the good work _:D


	33. Cheating

James woke up Saturday morning tangled up in her. Hunter didn't usually – almost never – slept with him. She'd leave before he woke up. Or before he even had a chance to pass out.

He took the opportunity to look at her when she didn't know it. She lay on her side, curled against him. He stroked the back of his fingers along her cheek. She really was beautiful. If she was just a bit softer, she might be perfect for him. Except that she was a Slytherin. There was really no getting around that.

He ran his fingers through her hair, watching the colors shift. It was definitely his favorite feature of hers. No one else in the world had hair like this.

He watched her lashes flutter open. "Morning," he said, leaning down to kiss her. He started to shift, part her legs, when she stopped him.

"Oh, no," she said. "You've got a game to play." She rolled out of bed, seemingly unconscious of the grace of her movements, the glory of her body.

"The bet really only applies to the clothing," he tried, but he got a shake of her head in response.

She walked over to the closet and pulled out the lingerie in question. To his great surprise and pleasure, she started putting it on.

Dragging his mind out of the gutter it dove into, he tried to focus. "We haven't played yet, you know. And, not to brag or anything, but Gryffindor has a way better team that Ravenclaw. I know, I picked it."

She smiled wickedly. "I just thought you should know what you're playing for." He watched her pull on stockings and attach them to the garter.

"Right," he said. When she laughed, he seriously considered just forfeiting right then. "I think this might be cheating."

"That's funny," she said, slipping into some high heels. "I don't remember setting any ground rules." She walked over to him. "Do you?" she asked, crawling up onto the bed and kissing him.

He slid his hands down her body, tried to pull her closer. She moved away. "I forgot," she said, biting his lip. "You haven't played yet, have you?"

"I'm starting to understand why you're in Slytherin," he muttered.

She laughed again, the laugh that rattled around inside him, made him crazy. "The sorting hat knows what it's about," she said. She slid onto his lap, straddling him. "I guess you'll just have to be very, very brave," she whispered, wrapping her arms around his neck.

His fingers moved of their own will, trying to undo the clasp of her bra, but again she stopped him. Climbing off of him, she walked back over to the closet. She slithered into a little skirt and pulled a top on. Anyone would know she was sexy as hell, but no one but him knew exactly what she had on under her little outfit.

She walked by him on the way to the door. "Good luck," she said, trailing her fingers through his hair.

He thought he would definitely need it.

* * *

_A/N - Short, I know, but I've got to build the suspense. Plus also, it let me get some of my crap done. _


	34. Nice

Rose walked into the Three Broomsticks, trying to project confidence. It wasn't her strong suit, but she gave it her best shot. She had done her hair nicely, chosen her clothes carefully, and was feeling as good as she ever would in this situation.

Which meant horrible.

She sighed. Worst came to worst, she would just never go on another date again. She could be permanent bachelor. Or, a permanent bachelorette, she thought, annoyed. It seemed unfair that the female version of a lifelong bachelor was an old maid.

She took a deep breath, straightened her shoulders, and walked over to Zabini. She thought it a bit strange he was sitting with friends, but what did she know about dating?

"Hi," she said.

"Weasley," he responded, giving her a funny look.

"You said right after the match, yeah?" she asked, baffled.

He gave her another odd look. "For what?"

"Our date," she said, feeling a growing sense of dread.

He laughed loudly. "Date? Us?" He glanced around the table, including his friends in the joke. "You smooth out your hair and thinks it's enough to make _me_ want to go on a date with _you_?"

She didn't miss the fact that he spoke loudly enough to ensure that the whole pub could hear him.

"Use all the tricks in the book, and I wouldn't be interested," he said. "In fact, I think you're really better off just sticking with the books. It's obviously the best you can do."

"Right," she said, mustering all the dignity she could manage. "My mistake." She turned on her heel and walked straight back out the door.

She maintained her stiff back all the way out of town. Then she started running. She bolted up to the castle and straight through the front doors. As she ran past the Great Hall, she heard someone call her name, but she didn't stop running. She just wanted to get to her dorm before she broke.

"Rose," he called again.

She identified the voice now, and Scorpius Malfoy was the last person she wanted to talk to. She didn't want to have to admit that he'd been right, that no one _would_ want to date her unless it was a cruel joke.

She didn't want to cry, so she worked herself up into being angry. After a minute, she whirled around to face him. "What?" she shouted.

He skidded to a stop, raising his eyebrows. Presumably at her tone. Or her volume. How could she know which? She wasn't a damned mind reader.

"I just wanted to see if you're ok?" he said, shoving his hands in his pockets.

She laughed for a moment, but she cut it off before it could turn into a sob. "Why, because you knew what he was going to do?"

He reached out a hand, but she slapped it away. "I didn't know what he was going to do," he said. "I don't even know what he did." He shrugged. "I just know he isn't a good guy." He looked very sincere. "I tried to warn you."

"Of course you did," she snapped, trying to hold onto the anger. "We've established that the only possible motivation for a boy asking me out would be something like this," she said, blinking back tears. "I'm sorry I didn't catch on faster. I'll know better next time."

"There's lots of reasons for boys to ask you out," he said. "Zabini is just a bad egg."

She snorted. "Right. Which would explain why-" she cut herself off, angrily brushing away tears. "If you tell anyone-" she began.

He held up his hands. "I won't," he said. "Listen, don't let him get you down. You're a really great girl."

She choked out a laugh. "Right," she said. "Nice, yeah? Even I know that 'she's really, really nice' is what boys say about the girls they don't think are pretty enough to date themselves."

"What makes you think I don't think you're pretty enough to date?" he asked.

This laugh sounded dangerously close to a sob. "I'm not a complete idiot," she said. "I mean, I think it's understandable if I was thrown for a while, given that you _kissed_ me. But now I get it. Same sort of thing, right?"

He looked offended. "It's not the same at all. That was something stupid I did when I was drunk, and I apologized for it. He's just a bastard."

"Something stupid you did when you were drunk," she repeated, wiping away tears. "Fantastic. I've got an excellent track record. And you wonder-" she broke off when her voice quavered.

"Rose," he said, brushing away a tear. She didn't have the energy to slap his hand away a second time. "Was it your first kiss?" he asked.

She looked away, unwilling to admit it.

He sighed. "Maybe I am as bad as him," he said, making everything worse. "But I wouldn't have hurt you intentionally."

She shook her head. "Doesn't matter," she said. "I'm being stupid."

"I think we both know that word doesn't apply to you," he said, lifting her chin. He leaned forward, kissing her lightly. "It concerns me a bit, you know," he said, kissing her again, "how much I like the idea that I'm the only guy who's ever kissed you."

She swallowed audibly. "Oh?" she managed to squeak out.

He nodded, kissing her again. He sunk in this time, and she found herself gripping his shirt. "See, normally that's not something I think about. Most people have experience. No sense dwelling on what that was, or who it was with." He tilter her head, changed the angle slightly before he kissed her again. "And the blokes that worry about who a girl has dated before, mostly I think they're idiots." He brushed his nose along hers, lightening the kiss again. "But with you, it seems I like the idea of being the first."

"Are you just doing this to be nice?"she whispered.

He smiled slightly. "Do you find that a lot of people kiss you just to be nice?"

"I don't know," she said. "You're the only one that's ever done it."

He grinned widely. "I am, aren't I," he said, kissing her again. "Well, in that case, I can tell you, absolutely no one has ever kissed you just to be nice."

She smiled a little bit, wiping away the last of her tears. "You're sure?"

He laughed. "Pretty sure," he said. "Let me just," he kissed her again, "check." He paused, pretending to think about it. "Nope," he said. "Definitely just kissing you because I want to."

"Ok," she said, leaning in to kiss him.

She decided even if he was just being nice, she might not mind so much.


	35. Beat

They lost. They bloody lost. And Merlin help him, all he could think about was finding her. He looked down at the map, pinpointing her location.

He hadn't played horribly, he thought, as he went to find her. He'd played, averagely. Average for someone else. Someone whose father hadn't been the youngest seeker in one hundred years. Someone whose mother hadn't played for the Hollyhead Harpies. And he _hadn't_ tried to lose. He'd just been so bloody distracted every time he looked over and saw her in the stands.

That was vicious of her. She never went to quidditch matches. But there she sat – with bloody Malfoy – watching the game. In her knickers. Well, in her clothes. But under them were her knickers. Well, she tended to wear knickers, so that really wasn't the point. Merlin, he couldn't even think straight in his own head.

He found her walking alone down one of the side corridors. She raised an eyebrow when she saw him.

"Tough beat," she said, not even trying for sincerity.

He just looked at her. "I was distracted," he said, moving closer.

"Were you?" she asked. "And what could possibly distract a motivated quidditch player like yourself?"

He leaned forward, caught her mouth. "We need to go to the Room," he said.

"Mmm . . ." she mumbled. "The thing is," she told him, pressing her hands against his chest. "I never said I'd shag you if you won. I just said I'd wear the lingerie. And you've already seen that I complied . . . So I really think I've already paid up on the bet."

He stared at her. "No, oh no. That's not going to work," he backed her into the wall. "I lost a bloody quidditch match because I couldn't stop thinking about shagging you in those bloody knickers."

"See, that sounds like _your_ problem," she said. "It doesn't sound like mine." Being Hunter, she shifted forward slightly, brushing against him.

He kissed her again, slamming her back into the wall harder than he meant to. "Oh no," he said. "No, no." He bit her lip, heard her gasp. His hands tore at her clothes, impatient. He ripped the knickers before he even had the chance to enjoy them. Fumbling, he managed to free himself from his pants.

He could feel her nails trying to dig into his back through his shirt. Felt her bite his shoulder when he slid inside her.

"Fuck," he said, mouth near her ear. "You drive me out of my mind."

He decided to take her moan as sign she might not be entirely sane around him either.

When she tightened around him, he lost it. He leaned his head against the wall where hers rested, exhausted. "I want you in bed," he told her.

"Mmm . . ." she mumbled, turning her mouth into his neck. "The thing is, I'm not exactly in a state where I can be walking around in public at the moment."

He nodded. "I can deal with that," he said. Gathering all his energy, he pulled out the invisibility cloak. They managed to keep themselves covered and undiscovered all the way to the Room of Requirement.

* * *

_A/N - I don't know if I'll have a chance to write too much more before I move and get settled in, so I thought I'd at least post what I had. I mean, you've gotta know who won the bet. _


	36. Concessions

Rose lay on her bed, staring up at the ceiling and thinking about her night. She had gone into Hogsmeade expecting a nice date with Zabini, thinking everyone would be surprised when he turned out to be a nice guy. She had left Hogsmeade completely humiliated, hating that everyone had been right about him all along. And now should couldn't care less about him.

She closed her eyes, smiling as she relived the feel of Scorpius' mouth on hers. She bit her lip. Merlin she hoped he turned out to mean what he said. She lifted a hand to her mouth, lightly touching her lips. He had said he liked her, that he wanted to kiss her. She sighed. She couldn't very well pretend she didn't feel the same way.

She sat up sharply when someone came in the room.

Amy walked hesitantly toward her. "I'm sorry," she said to Rose. "I'm so sorry. I heard about Zabini. And you can't believe anything he said! Just because he's too bloody stupid to see how completely out if his league you are, doesn't mean that other people can't see. He's just . .. He's just . . ." Amy had clenched her fists and seemed unable to vocalize her anger.

Rose smiled. "It's ok, Amy. He doesn't matter."

"That's right!" Amy said. "He's nothing but a slimy, filthy Slytherin!"

Rose flopped back down on the bed. "He's nothing but a slimy, filthy arse. I don't think being Slytherin has anything to do with it." She rolled over on her side, caught Amy's look. Rose stared her down.

Amy took a deep breath. "You're still determined to give Malfoy and Hunter a chance, aren't you?"

Rose nodded. "He's not like Zabini, Amy. Really." She smiled, rolling over onto her back again. "He thinks I'm pretty. And he likes me. And he kissed me just because he wanted to kiss me."

Amy didn't say anything for a long moment. "Is there another reason he would kiss you?" she asked, sounding baffled.

Rose laughed. "I don't know. I thought maybe he was just being nice, because I was upset about Zabini, and I shouted at him for not thinking I was pretty enough to date."

"He said that?" Amy bellowed, looking ready to find Malfoy and maul him. "He's no better than-"

Rose giggled. "You look dangerous," she said. "All those boys who ask you out would think twice if they knew the dangers of being on your bad side."

Amy glared at her. "How can you not hate him?"

"He didn't say I wasn't pretty enough to date," Rose clarified. "In fact, he sort of said the opposite." She smiled. "And then he kissed me." She looked over at Amy. "A lot."

Amy blinked. "So, are you two . . ."

Rose shrugged, tucking her hair behind her ear. "I don't know. I don't think so. I mean, he said he liked me, but . . ." she raised baffled hands . . . "I don't have any idea how this stuff works." She rolled over onto her stomach and looked up at her friend. "What do you think?"

Amy opened and closed her mouth. Sighing, she came over and sat cross-legged on Rose's bed. "Well, did you kiss or did you get off together?"

"Umm . . . I mean, we didn't . . ." Rose trailed off.

Amy laughed. "No, I just mean, was it like a couple of distinct kisses, all lip? Or was it lots of kissing with tongue and hands and all that?" She smiled when Rose sighed, shifting to lay her head in Amy's lap.

"I don't know," Rose said. "Somewhere in between, I guess. Lots of kissing, with tongue. Not a lot of hands. Like, he didn't touch me anywhere he wasn't supposed to."

Amy combed her fingers through Rose's hair. "Oh, lovely. Those are the places he's _supposed _to touch you," she said, making Rose laugh. "Or at least, the right guy anyway."

"How come you hate him so much?" Rose asked, after a pause.

Amy continued playing with Rose's hair. "I guess . . ." she shrugged. "It's about the same as James, I guess. Death Eaters killed my family members, and the Malfoys are Death Eaters."

"Scorpius isn't," Rose said. "He's . . . better than that. His parents both do aid work and-"

"The Malfoys have always played up their charity work," Amy cut in.

Rose sighed. "Not like this. Over the summer, he was actually really angry talking about some of the horrible things that have happened to muggles, genocides and the sort. His mum works specifically to try to temper the effects wizard conflicts have on the muggle world. And that's just always been a part of his life." She looked up at Amy, very sincere. "He really is different, Ames. I think if you give him a chance . . ."

Amy sighed dramatically. "You suck face with Malfoy one time and now I have to be nice to him?"

"He thinks Zabini is a bastard," Rose told her.

"Just because he can recognize a bastard when he sees one-"

"And that I'm a great girl," she added. "Who is pretty enough to date. And who he wants to kiss."

"So he has good taste in women-"

"He came after me to see if I was ok when I showed up crying," Rose continued.

"And may potentially have a heart capable of compassion-" Amy grumbled.

"He wiped my tears away," Rose said, smiling softly.

"And can occasionally be decent-" Amy conceded.

"Then he kissed me so that I never wanted him to stop," Rose added, knowing she almost had her.

"So, his mouth may be moderately talented-" Amy acknowledged.

"Extremely talented," Rose said, sighing. "Oh Merlin," she added. "Did I tell you he has his tongue pierced. It's so strange. I mean, probably having an unpierced tongue in your mouth is also a bit strange a first, but still . . ." She grinned at Amy's shocked look.

"He has his tongue pierced?" Amy squeaked.

Rose nodded, grinning.

"Wow," Amy said. "I wasn't expecting that at all. How very . . . muggle of him."

Rose laughed. "Do you believe me now that he isn't a Death Eater?"

Amy cocked her head. "That depends on exactly how many details you give me," she said, smiling wickedly.

Rose didn't mind. It felt good to be back on a sure-footing with her best friend.


	37. Mudbloods and Pricks

When Rose and Amy went down for breakfast the next morning, Rose couldn't help keeping her eyes peeled for Scorpius. She spotted him sitting at the Slytherin table with Hunter the moment she walked in. She smiled automatically when he glanced up, pleased when he smiled back.

She and Amy walked over and sat down at the Gryffindor table. They chose seats by James and Albus.

"Hey," Amy said, smiling just a touch more brightly at James. Rose tried not to roll her eyes. Amy had actually been really good about everything last night, and she had agreed to give Scorpius a chance. Anyway, practically every girl in school had a crush on James, so Rose couldn't really hold it against her.

James nodded absent-mindedly and continued playing with his food.

"Sorry about the match last night," Amy said, patting his hand.

James shrugged. "It happens," he responded. Rose noticed his gaze cut over to the Slytherin table and settle on Hunter.

"They won't be a match for you," Amy told him confidently, misinterpreting his look. "I still think we could win it. If Ravenclaw loses a few, and we beat everyone else . . ."

"Yeah," James said. "As long as I play a bloody sight better than I did yesterday." He shook his head, obviously annoyed with himself, and went back to fiddling with his food.

"You will. Not that you were bad yesterday," Amy clarified. "You just weren't in top James Potter form," she added with a smile.

Rose tried not to laugh when Albus rolled his eyes. "How are you doing?" he mouthed at her.

Rose smiled. "Good," she said. "I've realized that agreeing to go on a doubt with Zabini was one of the poorer choices I've made, but I've learned my lesson and moved on."

Amy glanced over at her, obviously wanting to argue whether or not she had really learned her lesson, but wisely said nothing.

"What happened with Zabini?" James asked, baffled.

Amy looked shocked. "What, have you been in a box for the last 24 hours? He was a complete arse to her in Hogsmeade. Tried to pretend he had never asked her out just to embarrass her."

James started to his feet and toward the Slytherin table without even responding. Rose had to rush to get in front of him and slow his progress.

"Stop it, James," she snapped.

"I'm bloody well going to-"

"No," she said, shoving him a full step back. "You're not going to bloody well do anything. Zabini's an arrogant, imbecilic, pretentious, pointy-nosed prick, but he certainly isn't worth either of our time. I already wasted an hour of time on him, and trust me it was far more than he deserved. We sure as hell aren't going to spend another minute-" Rose broke off when she realized the Hall had gone quiet, and her voice had carried, and everyone in the room had heard her opinion of the Slytherin.

"That's funny, Weasley," Zabini said, smiling confidently. "Because you didn't seem so turned off by me yesterday. Came down to the pub all prettied up. It was actually almost cute, seeing how you tried to make yourself attractive," he laughed when James lunged at him and Rose shoved him back again.

Rose looked over in shock when Scorpius laughed too. Oh no, she thought. She really didn't want to have made the same mistake twice.

"I'm sorry," Scorpius said. "I just think it's funny he's trying so hard to pretend he isn't interested. I mean, it's not a coincidence he called you pretty, cute, and attractive all in the course of a minute." He shook his head. "I mean, you can't fault his taste. Just that he doesn't have the balls to own up to it."

"I've never found mudbloods attractive," Zabini snapped. "Unlike you," he told Malfoy, with a significant glance at Hunter.

James got around Rose this time and smashed his fist into Zabini's face. Rose rushed forward to try to pull him off, but Hunter blocked her progress.

"Oh, let them work it out," Hunter said. "It'll be cathartic for your cousin, and you can't say Zabini hasn't earned it."

Rose turned to Scorpius, huffing out a breath. "I thought you didn't like violence."

He shrugged. "I've less of a problem with the non-magical sort," he said, as a circle began to form around James and Zabini.

Rose felt a vague sense of surprise that the Slytherins hadn't jumped in to help Zabini, but then she saw Hunter block a spell out of the corner of her eye and realized the girl was facilitating a fair fight. As a fair as it could be when James was clearly pummeling Zabini, at any rate.

Rose scowled at Scorpius and Kimball, pulling away, she stepped forward to drag James off of him. Scorpius caught her hand and pulled her back toward him.

"I'm not just letting him-" she began, but he cut her off.

"I'll break it up," he said, far too calmly. "I've just seen it go badly when people wade into the middle if they don't know what they're about."

Efficiently, he stepped forward and lifted James bodily off of Zabini. James struggled with him and ending up elbowing Scorpius in the stomach and headbutting him in the face. Scorpius shoved him off into open space and told him to get it together.

Rose, saw Zabini raise his wand and cast a spell, but Hunter must have blocked it, because whatever Zabini had cooked up rebounded back on himself. Scorpius, bleeding slightly, gave Hunter a look.

"What?" she said. "It was just a shield. It's not my fault he tried to cast such a nasty spell."

James seemed to settle down, breathing heavily still. Rose saw his eyes snap to Hunter's, but neither said anything.

Rose turned to Scorpius. "Here," she said, leaning up to touch his face. "You're bleeding. I'll take you to the hospital wing."

He shook his head. "Nah," he shrugged it off. "It's nothing." Then he grinned at her. "Aren't you glad I didn't let you pull him off?"

James glared at him. "I wouldn't have hit her," he said, obviously annoyed at the implication.

"Alright," Scorpius said, as though he couldn't be bothered to argue. He nodded at Rose. "We were going to go down to the lake. You have any interest?"

Rose glanced at Zabini, who lay on the floor covered in the backlash of his own spell and the damage caused by James' fists. "I think someone should take him to the nurse."

Scorpius nodded. "They will," he said, indicating the rest of the Slytherin table, who were glaring opening at Hunter and Scorpius. "If you go, it's probably only going to cause continued problems," he added in a somewhat apologetic tone.

Rose looked over at James, then at the rest of the Gryffindor table, who all seemed ready to jump into the fray.

"The lake sounds good," she said.

Scorpius held out his hand. "We should go before the teacher get down here. I'll wager whoever was meant to be monitoring us will be in for it as much as your cousin, and I don't want to be any sort of collateral damage."

She smiled, taking his hand and walking out of the room without a backward glance. Something much harder to do than she had ever dreamed. She definitely had the sense that every person in the hall was watching them leave.


	38. Too Many Questions

Rose came out of her Muggle Studies class to find Scorpius waiting casually in the hall. Smiling, she waved goodbye to her friends and went over to say hello.

"Did you learn anything interesting?" he asked, after kissing her lightly.

She shrugged, taking his hand and beginning to walk. As always, she ignored the looks from her fellow Gryffindors.

"Well," she said, thinking it over. "We talked about _airplanes_," she told him. "Which are actually kind of fascinating. I mean, the amount of time and fuel it takes to get muggles around." She shook her head. "If only they could apparate."

He laughed. "Just think how bad it was when they had to sail. They lit their bloody lamps with whale blubber. And trips took months and had a huge mortality rate."

She glanced over at him. "How on earth do you know these things?" she asked. "Music, I get. Sports, too. A lot of your friends are muggles. But why would you know about whale blubber?"

He shrugged. "The thing about spending a lot of time with muggles is they notice the little things as much as the big things. Muggleborns don't have problems, because it comes naturally to them. But if you don't know something small that's very basic for them – like that you have to put petrol in your car to make it run – they'll think you're a complete nutter."

She gave him a skeptical look. "And you think whale blubber will be your downfall?"

He laughed. "No, but I didn't know that before I found out about it. It's bloody impossible to guess what is and isn't important. And muggleborns are no help, because the things someone will think you're mad for not knowing are the same things a muggleborn doesn't notice they know."

She eyed him suspiciously. "Sometimes I think you're just having a laugh," she told him.

He shook his head. "Not at all. The first time I went to visit Kim in London, I didn't know how a light switch worked. Kim didn't think to tell me, because it was so natural to her to flip it on when she walked in the room. But I had never dealt with electricity before, so when I went to the loo, I just thought I had to do it in the dark. I mentioned something when I got back, and her friends thought I was out of my mind. Or a bit simple." He looked rueful. "Ever since then, I make a point of reading a lot. And a combination of nonfiction – especially history and psychology – and fiction, so I know how things work and how muggles interact."

"Huh," Rose said, thinking it over. "I suppose that makes sense."

"So, anyway, what did you think of airplanes?" he asked.

She grinned. "I think I would be scared out of my mind to fly in one." She glanced around. "Where are we going?"

"You don't have another class, right?" he confirmed.

"No, but don't we usually go straight to the Great Hall?" she looked around, baffled as to why they had gone in the wrong direction.

"But, then we sit around for ages before dinner," he said. "And I thought it might be nice to spend some time with you when your whole house isn't glaring at me."

"So, where are we going?" she asked, still confused. He seemed to be leading her straight toward the statue of Gregory the Smarmy.

"Secret passageway," he said. "How can you be a Weasley and not know these things?" he asked. "I thought your uncles practically invented these, or so the legend has it."

She shrugged. "I seldom find myself in need of a secret passageway." She examined her surroundings, unimpressed. "Wouldn't we be better off in a classroom?"

He laughed. "See, in a class room, I can't do this," he said, leaning forward to kiss her. After a moment, he pulled back. "But we can go find a classroom, if you'd rather?" he offered, watching her calmly.

She knew she was blushing, but couldn't stop it. Why did she have to ask so many bloody questions? "No," she said, trying to keep her voice casual. "Here's fine."

He grinned, leaning in to kiss her again. She felt his hands slide into her hair and his tongue begin to tangle with her own.

"Mmm . . ." she said. "Hang on," she added, pushing him back gently. "How come we can't do this in a classroom?" She really didn't want him expecting too much from her. He smiled slightly, probably guessing her concern.

"Because I'd probably get hexed by every Gryffindor that happened by," he said. He leaned back against the wall. "So, why would you be terrified to fly on an airplane?" he asked.

She sighed. Too many bloody questions, she thought. She just needed to start casting silencio on herself before she saw him. Then he could kiss her, and she wouldn't ask stupid questions that would make him think she wanted him to back off.

She scooted over to sit next to him on the wall, and smiled when he took her hand and began playing with her fingers.

"So?" he prompted.

"It's a bloody tin can in the air," she said. "I realize muggle technology is ingenious, but I don't really want it to be the only thing keeping me from colliding with the ground at high speeds."

"Ah," he said, noncommittally.

"Have you flown in one?" she asked, laying her head on his shoulder.

She could feel him nod. "Couple times," he said. "It's one of those pitfalls wizards run into with muggles. If you're meeting someone in a new country, they'll usually offer to pick you up at the airport. And you can't get through security without a ticket, so it's easiest if you just travel like a muggle."

She didn't really have anything to say to that. She watched him fiddle with her fingers for a while. "I didn't mean you had to stop," she told him quietly.

"Stop flying?" he asked, sounding baffled.

"Stop kissing me," she whispered. "I just wondered why you didn't want to in a classroom."

He was silent for a moment. "And worried what I did want in here," he said, running his thumb lightly over the palm of her hand.

She kept her eyes firmly on their hands, knowing she had turned red again. "I didn't . . . It's just that I know you have more . . . experience. And I'm not always sure what you expect from me."

Again, he said nothing. She watched him bring her palm to his lips and kiss it gently. "I don't _expect_ anything, Rose," he told her, catching her gaze. "Except that you'll tell me if you ever want me to stop, or slow down."

She nodded, quickly, looking back down at her lap.

"So, are you afraid to drive in cars, too?" he asked.

She glanced up. And she smiled at him. "I want you to stop talking about my Muggle Studies class," she said, watching him.

He grinned. "Ok," he said. She huffed out a breath when she realized he knew exactly what she wanted, but wasn't going to do it unless she made it very clear.

Making an irritated noise, she pulled him forward and kissed him. She shifted, trying to get better leverage, and ended up climbing into his lap. He didn't seem to mind though. She felt his hands slide down her sides and settle on her hips.

Merlin, she thought she could kiss him like this for hours. Maybe they didn't really need dinner tonight after all.

* * *

_ Quick poll, just out of curiosity. Who's hotter in this story, James or Scorpius? I'm also curious to know the age spread in relation to the answer. So, if you're willing to tell me your age (or a range, like 15-20), that would be extra awesome. _

_And, to anyone who was wondering, that answer is yes, I'm all moved in. I'm still settling in to the new job though, which is why updates have been so sporadic. On the plus side, I've basically finished this story. I just have to edit and post the last several chapters. On the negative side, I anticipate that you might be a bit pissed about somethings that don't resolve. But I've a Rose/Scorpius . . . spin off, we'll call it, and a James/Hunter one as well, all set out in my head. So whenever I have time to write them, I think your anger will dissipate. __  
_


	39. Worried

_December 15th._

_

* * *

4:42 am  
_

James sat against the wall in the room of requirement, waiting impatiently for her to appear. It was practically morning. She usually came back before this.

He sighed, leaning his head against the wall, and checked the map again. She definitely wasn't on it. He would just have to wait.

* * *

_7:15 am_

"Malfoy!" James shouted, walking toward the Slytherin table. The blond swung around and looked at him in confusion. James nodded to him and waited for him to come over.

"Alright?" Malfoy asked, obviously baffled.

James shoved his hands in his pockets. "Have you seen Hunter?" he asked quietly, wishing he'd had the sense to approach Malfoy more privately. If someone overheard him asking about Hunter, word would get around. And then she'd probably refuse to shag him out of spite.

Malfoy shook his head. "No." He gave James an odd look. "You haven't seen her?"

James turned and began walking out of the room. He held up his pace and waited for Malfoy to fall into step with him. "No. She never came back last night," James responded.

"Did she say where she was going?" Malfoy asked, as they walked down the corridor.

James scratched at his arm. "I didn't talk to her. I just assumed she went to London."

Malfoy glanced over at James. "Nah. She'd be back by now." He shrugged. "She's probably sleeping it off in some secret corner of the school."

James could swear he felt his heart beat slow down. "She's not at Hogwarts."

"How can you be sure?" Malfoy asked, still unconcerned. "Kim knows places in this castle most people have never even heard about."

James hesitated, but then pulled out the map. "It shows everyone on Hogwarts grounds. She's not on it."

Malfoy examined the map. When he looked up, he to have tensed. "You think she went to London last night."

James nodded. "She'll do that sometimes. You know . . ." he trailed off, shrugging.

"Yeah."

"But she's always back before this," James added.

"Yeah." Malfoy glanced down the hall. "I'll go in. Once I'm out of Hogwarts, I can call her. If she's not here, she should be able to receive it."

James nodded. "You mind if I . . .?" He trailed off, feeling a bit stupid for being so worried. But he _was _worried, and he wasn't about to just brush it off. She was _always_ back by the first class.

Malfoy shook his head, and they started off toward the Room of Requirement. Down the tunnel, both kept up a hurried pace and neither spoke.

The moment they reached the air of the warehouse, Malfoy took out one of the muggle devices James had seen him use over the summer. He poked at it and then held it to his ear.

James waited impatiently, unsure as to how long it might take.

"Hunter," Malfoy said, and James breathed a sigh of relief. "Where the fuck are you? I'm in London with James. Call me when you get this."

James stared at him in confusion.

"Voicemail," Malfoy said, looking concerned. "She didn't answer."

"Bloody hell," James said, shoving his hands through his hair. "Do you know . . . with you parents, why were they concerned enough to have Hunter stay with us?"

"It's a combination of worrying they might go after her to get to me to get to them and just not wanting her to go home," Malfoy answered, pressing his fingers to his eyes.

"Who's them?" James asked.

Malfoy looked over in surprise. "You parents didn't explain what mine were doing?"

James shook his head. "No. If it's Auror stuff, they don't give us details."

"Yeah. I could see that, I guess. It's, uh, like a spy thing, I guess. They were meant to go infiltrate a growing faction of . . . dark wizards, I guess you'd say. Some connected to what's left of Voldemort's followers, some altogether foreign. They figured no one would question a Malfoy going bad." He started walking, and James followed.

"But your parents were concerned they might, if they made mine protect you personally," James commented, not liking what he had heard.

Malfoy nodded. "Yeah, well they weren't all that keen on it, to be honest. Especially with them both going. Something goes wrong and they leave me an orphan, yeah? Plus, families aren't exactly off limits with this lot. So if you get on their bad side, it's not just you at risk." He shrugged. "Some of the foreign wizards have . . . been involved in the sort of thing my mum tries to prevent, though. And she couldn't stand the thought of just letting it happen again without trying to do everything she could."

James didn't say anything. He followed as Malfoy led him into an unassuming building. They climbed several flights of stairs and then stopped outside a thick door. Malfoy banged his fist on it several times.

"Oi, Martin!" he shouted. "Open up."

It took a few minutes of repetition, but eventually a young man opened the door.

"The fuck do you want?" he asked groggily.

"You seen Kim?" Malfoy asked.

The man rubbed at his eyes, still looking annoyed. "Last night, yeah. She got pissed. Left with some bloke, I think."

"Who was it?" Malfoy asked, as James tried not to react to the information.

The guy shrugged. "Never seen him before," he said. "Anyway, I thought it weren't like that with you two."

Malfoy ignored the last part of his statement. "What did he look like?"

"How the fuck do I know?" the man asked, annoyed. "Come in and wake me up an hour after I go to bed, asking me to describe some bloke I didn't give a shit about."

Malfoy pulled out his wand and muttered a quick spell. James wasn't certain, but he thought it looked similar to when a wizard extracts a memory to use in a pensieve.

Sure enough, Malfoy placed the memory into a small stoppered bottle. Then he waved his wand again, said another quick spell, and thanked the man for his help.

They hurried down the stairs and out the door. When they got outside, Malfoy made a quick turn into an alley.

"We need to find a pensieve now, yeah?" James asked.

Malfoy shook his head. "No, there's a trick I learned. It's not as clear, but it should do." He did some more wand work and then summoned what appeared to be a simple basin. The memory showed in a foggier manner, but it seemed clear enough to get a good idea what the man had looked like.

"Have you seen him before?" Malfoy asked.

James shook his head. "You?"

"No," Malfoy said. "But if you watch," he said, shifting the memory to the moment he wanted, "he does something to her drink. She's usually more vigilant than this," he added, shaking his head. "But mostly for muggles. She's not used to having to worry about wizards the same way."

"You think he's a wizard?" James asked.

Malfoy nodded. "If he were a muggle, he'd have to slip something into it, which is what she knows to be wary of. But here, he casts a spell on it."

He said a quick spell and the basin disappeared. Then he rose and started hurriedly in the opposite direction.

"We need to go to the ministry," James said. "We can find my dad, and-"

Malfoy shook his head. "That'll prove my parents are helping the ministry."

"Listen, I don't give a shit about your parents right now," James began.

"But I do, and Hunter does. And anyway, they're wizards. They'll be prepared for other wizards. They'll have covered their tracks magically." He kept walking until they reached a busier street.

"So how do we find her, if we don't know who took her? My dad would probably be able to figure out who that bastard was-"

"Yeah? How long do you think that would take him?" Malfoy asked, sounding annoyed for the first time. He reached out his hand and a cab pulled up beside them.

Malfoy climbed inside and James followed. Hi didn't hear the address Malfoy told the cabbie. "So what the hell are we doing then?" James asked.

"I know a way we can find her, faster than your dad could, at any rate," Malfoy said.

"But-" James began.

Malfoy glanced significantly at the cab driver and James fell silent.

He waited impatiently until the car pulled to the side. Malfoy paid the man and they both got out. Malfoy walked directly up to a rundown shop. He went inside and walked up to a counter.

"Is Jay in?" he asked.

The man behind the counter nodded toward the back and Malfoy headed in that direction. James followed.

"Alright?" Malfoy asked, shaking the bloke's hand in the next room. He looked roughly the same ages as the man at the apartment, but had a baby face and a pair of spectacles. "Can you do me a favor?"

"Always," the young man said. He shook his shaggy brown hair out of his eyes, looking rather unkempt. James didn't see what he could possibly do to help.

"I need you to track Kim's cell for me," Malfoy said.

"Oh, no, no. I'm not getting on her bad side. She doesn't want to be found, she doesn't want to be found," the man said, shrugging.

"Someone fucked with her drink," Malfoy said in a low voice. "I need to find her."

The guy considered Malfoy for a moment, obviously trying to decide if he was telling the truth. Then he nodded slowly. "Sure," he said. He turned to a muggle device James vaguely recognized. He thought it might be called a _computer_. He tapped away at it. After a moment, he sat back. "You're in luck. She's got her phone on." He grabbed a piece of paper. "Here's the address."

Malfoy reached for his wallet, but the guy stopped him. "No need," the bloke said. "If you need any help kicking his ass . . ."

Malfoy nodded. "Thanks."

They walked back out and hailed another cab. James had to admit, it probably had been faster.

* * *

_Action is definitely not my strong suit :-( We'll see how the next chapter goes. _


	40. Attack

They rode in silence until Malfoy leaned forward and spoke to the cabby. "Pull over here for a minute," he said.

James looked at him in confusion.

"I'll just be a minute," Malfoy said, motioning for James to stay in the cab.

"Are you out of your mind? We need to-" James began.

Malfoy simply ignored him, climbing out of the cab and walking over to a little stand on the side of the road. James seriously considered getting out and kicking his ass. He looked at the cab driver, wondering if he would continue on without Malfoy. Then again, James didn't have any muggle money to pay him, so it might be hard to convince him to drive away without Malfoy.

The blond exchanged some money with the woman at the stand and slid back into the cab. He handed James a blue hat with an N and a Y on it.

"Thanks," Malfoy told the cab driver. "You can keep going."

The car slipped back into traffic as James continued to stare at Malfoy in bafflement. "What the fuck was that?" he asked.

Malfoy glanced over at him, pulling his hat on at the same time. "We're both pretty recognizable. Might as well try to look inconspicuous," he responded quietly.

"You really think a hat will make that much of a difference?" James asked, annoyed.

Malfoy shrugged. "Baseball caps are a muggle thing. And I'm betting this lot consider muggles beneath their notice."

"Yeah, I guess," James said, putting the hat on.

His timing was perfect. The cab driver pulled off to the side right as he finished straightening his cap. Malfoy leaned forward to pay him, then they both climbed out.

"Do we have any idea what we're looking at?" James asked.

Malfoy shook his head. He stared up at the building for a moment. "I'm going to try to find a way in, see what the situation is." He looked over at James. "You stay here. If I'm not back out in 30 minutes, get your dad."

James grabbed his arm before he could leave. "I'll go," he said.

"Listen, we're wasting time. I can hide in plain sight better than you can. You scream wizard, and that's what they'll be looking for," he said, turning to leave again.

"Yeah, but I can look like a wizard all I want. If you have an invisibility cloak, no one can see you anyway."

Malfoy turned back to face him. "You have the cloak."

James nodded. "I'll go and check it out."

"Can we both fit under it?" Malfoy asked.

"What happened to hurrying?"

"That's what I'm thinking. The two of us, with the element of surprise, and Hunter on our side as well. I think we can get her out now, if there aren't too many of them," Malfoy explained.

James nodded. "Fair enough."

He took out the cloak, and the two ducked under it. They made their way slowly up the stairs. They found an apartment with a little family, and another one with two young men sleeping in it. On their third try, they found wizards.

Two sat in the front room, playing a game of wizard chess.

"Don't see why we're stuck baby-sitting," one complained.

The other rolled his eyes. "Because you thought it would be a good to try to prove Draco's lying, Goyle" the other said. "And I still think it's a big bloody risk. If he's telling the truth, he'll do for us. The Malfoy's aren't known for their merciful natures."

Goyle scoffed. "Didn't you know? Draco's wife made him see the light. He's a bloody mudblood lover now. There's no way their actually committed to the cause. They're lying. And I'm ruddy well going to be the one that shows him up for it."

"And you think the little mudblood's the way?" the other laughed. "Even if he's contaminatedhimself, do you really think Malfoy would risk his life for one of them?"

Goyle laughed. "A think his son would. He's shagging her, I hear. A teenage boy would do a lot for a good bit of gash. And I bet that one knows what she's about." Goyle nodded toward the back of the apartment.

James took an involuntary step toward the man, but Malfoy held him back. Gritting his teeth, James walked in step with Malfoy as they quietly made their way in the direction the man had indicated.

Hunter sat propped against a wall, with chains tightly binding her wrists to the wall. She looked ill, and a large bruise covered most of the right side of her face. Both her eyes had been blackened.

Another two wizards sat in the room with her. They seemed to be using her as the entertainment.

"So, tell me mudblood," the young man said, kicking at her. He leaned down and spoke right into her face. "How long do you think it'll take your boyfriend to come rescue you?"

"I dunno. How long does it take you to clean up the vomit people spew every time you breathe on them?" Hunter asked.

The man backhanded her, and James lunged forward. Malfoy petrified him and caught him just before he would have fallen.

The other person in the room, a redheaded woman, looked around suspiciously. "Did you hear something?" she asked.

The man glanced over at her. "I heard a filthy mudblood speaking out of turn," the man growled. He grabbed Hunter by the hair. "You need to learn your place."

"Honestly, did you plan it this way? Is your shit breath another way to torture me? Or is that just what happens when you spend all your time with your mouth on your man's ass out there?" she jerked her head toward the other room, despite his hands grasping her hair.

He slammed her head against the wall. At the sound, one of the men from the other room shouted at them. James thought it might be Goyle.

"Oi! Renfing. Get in here!"

The man holding her looked back in the direction the voice had come from. "We'll sort you out in a minute," he said, slapping her face lightly.

"Looking forward to it," she responded, showing her teeth.

Malfoy released James from the spell in time for them to both move quietly out of the man's way. Then they moved in silence up to Hunter.

"Here's the thing, yeah?" Hunter said. "I need to piss. And, I can either do it in the bathroom, or on myself. Only, if I do it on myself, we're all stuck in a piss-smelling room for the rest of the time we're here." She looked up at the ceiling, seeming unconcerned. "I'm having a pretty bad day as it is, so it doesn't matter much to me. But I thought I'd let you choose." She smiled her best bitchy smile.

"I'm sure Renfing would love to take you," the woman said. "But I'm not too keen to watch him drool over a mudblood."

She got up and walked over to Hunter. She cast a quick spell, and the chains released from the wall, but tightened painfully around Hunter's midsection, while another set appeared around her ankles.

"Get on with it then," the woman said, gesturing toward a tiny room.

Hunter waddled over to the bathroom. James and Malfoy followed silently.

"And chance you can help me with my pants?" Hunter called to the woman.

"I'm sure you can manage. Your lot are so inventive, after all," the woman responded in a bored voice.

Hunter seemed to struggle with her pants, cursing loudly. Under her breath, she said "took you bloody long enough."

"If we release you, can you fight?" Malfoy whispered.

"Bloody buggering hell," Hunter complained, clanking around to cover their conversation. "No. They've given me something to stop my magic. Though I'd be happy to cut their hearts out with a knife, if you've one handy."

James felt a ridiculous sense of relief that the experience seemed to have made her no less the Hunter he knew so well.

"You can't do _anything_?" Malfoy asked.

Hunter seemed to consider the question. "Yeah, no. I think I could manage."

"Good," Malfoy said. "You wait for our move."

Hunter nodded, waddling over and flushing the toilet. After the requisite cursing and clanking to feign pulling her pants back up, Hunter made her slow way back out to the other room.

"What's the plan then?" James whispered.

Malfoy shrugged. "Attack?"

James nodded. "Sounds like a plan."

The walked out, waiting until the woman began the spell to shift Hunter's chains back to the wall. Then, simultaneously, they hit her with a spell.

As the woman crashed to the ground, the other three came bursting into the room. James and Scorpius spun to attack them.

James and Scorpius each took one, but Goyle made straight for Hunter unmarked. As James turned to abandon his man and go for Goyle, he saw a blur out of the corner of his eye. Then a jaguar slammed into Goyle, teeth tearing into his neck.

James barely recovered in time to block a curse aimed at him from the bastard who had been tormenting Hunter. They fought for a moment, but the young man was sloppy, and James stunned him quickly enough.

Malfoy appeared to be doing just as well. They both restrained their men while the jaguar paced slowly around the room.

It was hard to tell exactly which blood was the cat's, and which was Goyle's, but James thought the creature might be bleeding heavily in places that corresponded to where Hunter had still been chained. He stared at her, realizing that she must have shifted into the large cat. The chains had probably broken with the shift, but not without some injury to her.

He moved to approach her, but she went entirely still. Something about her posture seemed threatening, so James kept his distance. After a moment, Scorpius looked over.

"Can you shift back?" he asked, seeming fairly calm.

The cat stared at him for a long moment, but didn't change. Then she lay down and began licking her wounds.

"Worse in human form?" Scorpius asked.

The cat looked at him and then returned to her task. Scorpius slowly approached her. She watched him carefully. Once he was close enough, he cast several spells. James saw the bleeding slow, and finally stop.

The cat rose to sit on her haunches. Then she melted into human form, and Hunter sat naked in front of them, covered in blood.

"You alright?" James asked, stepping toward her.

She looked at him, and he was reminded forcibly of the look she had given Scorpius while in cat form.

Malfoy conjured clothes, and handed them to her. "Do you know where your wand is?" he asked.

She shook her head.

"Accio wand," James said. Her wand flew into his hand. He stepped forward and handed it to her.

Again she simply looked at him.

Then she rose gracefully to her feet. "I suppose you'll want us to go to his father then," she said, nodding at James.

Malfoy nodded. "That's probably our best choice."

She took the proffered want and turned on the spot without further comment, apparating. James and Scorpius looked at each other.

"You go," Scorpius said. "I'll stay until you can send someone."

James shook his head. "No," he sighed, shoving his hands in his pockets. "She'll do better with you. Just send my dad along, yeah?"

Scorpius considered him for a moment and then nodded. Then he apparated as well, leaving James to keep watch over the dark wizards.

* * *

_A/N - Sorry. I meant to post this one right after the last one, but Wise Man's Fear came out, and I got completely distracted for a few days. Anyway, reviews are always most welcome. _


	41. Dangerous

"What's going on?" Ginny asked, as Scorpius appeared on their front step. She looked toward the house, where Kimball sat bruised and bleeding against a cupboard in the kitchen.

"They took her last night," he told her, walking inside. "James noticed this morning, so we went to find her." He grabbed a piece of paper and a pencil, scrawling quickly. "He's at this address," he said, handing it to her. "There're four of them." He glanced at Kim. "Three now, I think. James said he'd stay to make sure they didn't run off. He wanted me to send his dad over."

Ginny blinked at him, obviously unhappy with the idea that her son stood guard alone over three or four dark wizards. She walked quickly over to the fire, threw in some floo powder, and had a hurried conversation with someone – presumably her husband.

He expected her to come away from the fire, but she moved on to speak with someone else. After a few moments, she sat back and Hermione stepped out of the flames.

She hurried toward Kim, but Scorpius stepped into her path.

"She's covered in blood," Hermione said, attempting to side step him.

Scorpius blocked her again. "I'd suggest you give her some space."

"Are you mad?" Hermione snapped. "She needs a healer."

"I stopped all the bleeding," he said, glancing back at Kim. "I think she'll be fine for a while."

"So she should sit there and suffer? For what? She's still injured." Hermione looked at him seriously. "If you don't move out of my way, I _will_ curse you."

Scorpius heard a low rumble behind him and looked to see that Kim had shifted back into a jaguar and was stalking toward them. He moved to block her view of Hermione.

"Shift back, Kim," he said. She didn't spare him a glance, only tried to circle toward Hermione. "Kim," he repeated sternly.

At that moment, James and Harry walked in the door. Harry froze on the spot. "She's an animagus," he said.

The cat shifted her gaze to him.

"Why's she back in cat form?" James asked.

Scorpius eyed the jaguar. "Well," he said. "It's a bit complicated. And not really my place to explain." He cocked his head, examining her. "We could go to that lake we went to last summer," he offered calmly. "Plenty of space there."

She eyed him for a moment and then turned and stalked off up the stairs. He moved to follow her, but stopped when he heard Hermione speak.

"She's not an animagus, is she?" the healer asked. She was staring at the space Kim had vacated. "Her reactions, they aren't those of a wizard in cat form. They're much, much closer to the true thing."

Scorpius shook his head. "Not exactly. She's . . ." he shrugged, unable to find the word. "Somewhere in between, I would say. Mostly I don't think her personality changes much, form to form. But she tends to become more . . . instinctual when there's a threat. Which isn't the safest thing in the world for people to be around if she's in this form."

"Has she ever . . . ?" Ginny trailed off under the weight of James' glare.

Scorpius shook his head. "I don't think so. Or, at least, if you aren't counting tonight. And I think it's within her rights to defend herself."

"But she isn't an animagus," Hermione persisted.

Scorpius shook his head. "No."

"What is she?" Hermione asked.

Scorpius shrugged. "She's Kim. This is just . . ." he gestured vaguely, "a part of who she's always been." He dragged his fingers through his hair. "Explains a lot about her personality, really, if you think about it."

"And the hair," James said, staring toward the upstairs

Scorpius smiled slightly. "And the hair."

"So, you're saying she's always like this, internally," Ginny asked.

Scorpius shook his head. "Like _this_? No. But she doesn't exactly think about things the way most people do," he said. "She doesn't think about things the way a jaguar would either," he added. "She's a bit like a hybrid, I'd say. And she generally has the ability to filter based on which . . . form she should be thinking as, yeah? So I don't think she'd ever go for the jugular in human form."

"But she might scratch," James said, obviously recalling something specific.

Scorpius nodded. "Yeah. Just like she can still reason like a person in this form, she's just less likely to."

"So, you're saying she's dangerous, but only if she wants to be?" Harry asked.

Scorpius shook his head.

"She's dangerous all the time," James mumbled under his breath. Scorpius wasn't sure if anyone else had heard.

"I'd say, mostly she's no more dangerous than anyone else," Scorpius explained. "But as she's just spent the last several hours in a life or death situation, feeling about as threatened as anyone could, probably she's running more on instinct than anything else. Most people react the same. It's just more . . . pronounced with Kim. All I'm saying is I wouldn't push my luck right now. And she likes me, so I would definitely encourage you all to keep your distance."

They didn't say anything, but Scorpius had to assume they understood. And he needed to move on to other things, regardless. "Has anything been done about my parents?" he asked.

Harry blinked, and then nodded. "Yes, of course. I'm sorry. I should have said right away. They'll move on the group your parents infiltrated immediately. Your parents will be taken to the Ministry for debriefing and then they can either come here to pick you up, or go straight to your home and have us bring you there to meet them."

Scorpius nodded. "You think it will all go off without a problem, then?"

Harry hesitated, making Scorpius nervous. "I think so, yes. It's a concern that they were suspicious enough to go after Kimball, but from the interrogation of the survivors, it sounds as though only a small fragment of the group at large distrusted your father. The rest accepted him as one of them, and your mother by her connection to him."

"I suppose it's a benefit, then, everyone thinking Malfoy's are evil," Scorpius said, shoving his hands in his pockets. "I'll check on Kim. Will you tell me when you know how it went?" he asked.

Harry nodded, looking sympathetic. "First thing," he said.

Scorpius smiled gratefully and started to turn. When James opened his mouth to speak, Scorpius shook his head. "I wouldn't," he said. "Space is always your best choice with Kim. Trust me."

James nodded, looking more serious than Scorpius could remember seeing him be.

Scorpius hurried up the stairs. He slowed down as he reached the door to the room Lily and Kim had shared over the summer. He knocked lightly.

"Kim," he called. "I'm coming in, alright?"

He turned to knob slowly and gently pushed open the door. Kim sat wrapped in a blanket, arms hugging her knees to herself

"Alright?" Scorpius asked.

She nodded, not really looking at anything.

"If you need any healing . . ."

She shook her head. "You got the spots worth worrying about," she responded in a hoarse voice.

He walked smoothly over to the bed, careful not to make any sudden movements. "I dunno," he said, gently tracing an ugly bruise on her face. "I don't much like these."

"Yeah," she said, closing her eyes and leaning her forehead into his midsection. He stroked her hair, wishing she would just cry. He could hear her breathing slowly and carefully, like she knew she was hanging onto her control by a thread.

He shifted forward and sat down on the bed, gathering her into his arms. She curled into him, seeming to make herself as small as possible. He laid them both down, keeping her close, and hoped she would fall asleep. He prayed to anyone who might be listening that tomorrow would be a better day.


	42. Concern

Rose was concerned. Scorpius hadn't been in any of their shared classes. Neither had Kimball. She might skip, but he seldom did. Even stranger was that the last time anyone had seem him was with James. And that simply did not make any sense at all.

She sat with Albus in the common room, impatiently waiting for her owl to come back with a response from Scorpius.

"Would you stop that?" Albus complained.

"What?" Rose asked.

Albus nodded toward her hands. "Biting your nails."

"It's just odd," said Rose.

"Yes," Albus agreed.

Rose sighed. "Scorpius gone, I could see. Even Scorpius and Kimball. For that matter Kimball and James gone would also make sense. But all three of them? It's very odd."

"Yes," Albus said. "I agree. I fact, I already agreed. _Several_ times."

"I'm only saying-"

"That it's odd. Yes, I know," Albus said. "And I know you well enough to realize that you're genuinely concerned for their well-being, not worried they're off having a three-way, which is what everyone else assumes."

Rose caught her breath. "Excuse me?"

"I didn't say it. And I don't think it. But it's the prevailing theory," he explained.

Rose glared at him.

"I said I don't think it's the case," he declared, throwing his hands in the air. "Why are you angry with me?"

"That's the most ridiculous thing I've ever heard," Rose snapped.

Albus nodded. "Yes. You being angry with me over something I neither thought nor said, _is_ quite ridiculous."

Rose growled at him.

"She has a reputation," he explained with a shrug. "And while, from what I can tell, it's largely undeserved – at least within the Hogwarts population – it's still her reputation, and it still informs people's theories about where they are right now."

Rose looked away. "I would just think that given that James is your brother, and obviously in some sort of trouble-"

"Why does it have to be James who's in trouble? Maybe it's Scorpius," Albus suggested.

Rose glared at him again.

"You're right. I shouldn't have said that in that tone," he acknowledged. "I was only-"

He broke off when the portrait swung open to admit Neville Longbottom.

"Albus," the professor called. "Can I have a word?"

White-faced, Albus rose and walked toward the door. Rose determinedly followed. Neville glanced at her and then nodded.

He led them back to his office, where Lily already waited, and told them each to take a seat.

"It seems several students, including James, were involved in a dangerous incident today. They're all ok," he added immediately. "But they won't be returning to classes until after the holiday."

"Were Scorpius Malfoy and Kimball Hunter the other students?" Rose asked.

Professor Longbottom nodded. "Yes," he said. "Albus and Lily, you'll be going home this evening. Rose-"

"I'll be going as well," Rose declared, rising. "I'll go and pack my things."

She saw her professor's amused look before she walked out the door, but she decided to ignore it. He didn't seem to be stopping her, and that was all the permission she needed.

* * *

Rose , Albus, Lily, and Hugo appeared in the fireplace at the Potter residence just after 8:00 pm. They had come from Hogsmeade, where Aberforth Dumbledore had been gracious enough to let them use his fireplace.

They immediately saw their parents and James.

"You alright?" Albus asked, concerned.

James nodded. He looked at Rose. "He's alright," he said.

Rose released a breath she felt like she had been holding for far too long.

"What do you mean _he's_ alright?" Ron asked.

Rose decided not to worry about him at the moment. She looked at James. "Where is he?" she asked.

James jerked his head toward the stairs. "Upstairs with Hunter. But, um, it sounds like she needs some space."

Rose nodded slowly. "What happened?"

James shoved a hand through his hair. "They took her. Pretty much exactly as the Malfoys had thought might happen."

"Well, a Death Eater knows how to think like a Death Eater, I'd say," Ron declared, looking very grumpy. "Back to this _he_ business."

"Is she alright?" Rose asked, worried by the tone in James' voice.

James shrugged. "She's alive," he said. At Rose's look, he hastily clarified. "I don't think there are any serious wounds, at this point anyway. But it wasn't a walk in the park." He stared at his hands. "The bloke that was guarding her . . ."

"Was that Goyle?" Harry asked, in a strangely interested voice.

James shook his head. "No. I think it was Renfing. Something like that, anyway."

"You fought?" Rose asked. "You and Scorpius went after her _alone_?"

James nodded, looking away. He had clearly already had this talk with his parents. "It seemed like the most sensible thing. They were on the lookout for wizards, and Scorpius was able to find her and get us in the building by muggle means. And from there we just used the invisibility cloak."

"Which you shouldn't have had in the first place," Ginny pointed out, obviously not for the first time.

"And what you were thinking trusting a Malfoy blindly . . ." Ron began.

"Could you give it a rest?" James snapped. "I'm sure Draco was a bloody bastard, but Scorpius didn't hesitate to go after her. And it's a damn good thing he did, because I ruddy well would have fucked it up on my own and gotten her hurt." He clenched his teeth. "Or hurt worse then she already was, at any rate."

Ron's mouth worked silently. Finally, he managed to speak. "I wasn't trying to say-"

"Yes, you were," James cut him off. "He's a decent bloke. Slytherin or not, Malfoy or not, he's decent. Just give it a rest."

Ron glanced at Hermione, who seemed to agree. He gave a long sigh and flopped into a chair. "As long as he doesn't try anything with my Rosie," he said, "I suppose I can try to be a bit nicer."

James' smile quirked slightly, and he – along with Albus, Lily, and Hugo – looked at Rose.

"Well, I don't suppose he has to try anything at this point," Rose said primly, straightening her sleeve, "as he's already succeeded." She took a deep breath and decided her mum was definitely the person to look at. "We've been dating since just after the first quidditch match."

Her mum – bless her – only smiled. Her dad seemed to be choking on something, but Rose thought it best not to dwell on the particulars.

"I think I'll just see how they're doing," Rose said, gesturing toward the stairs.

"Rose," Hermione called. "When James said she needs her space, he meant it. Give her a wide, wide berth. And if Scorpius tells you to leave, you should leave."

Rose blinked. "Ok," she said, confused.

She walked up the stairs, ignoring the exclamations flying out of her father's mouth. At the door to Lily's room, she stopped to knock.

She heard movement inside and then the door opened a crack. She breathed a sigh of relief when she saw him whole and intact.

"Hi," he whispered. "They've pulled you out of school?"

"Albus and Lily. I just refused to stay behind, so they let me and Hugo come as well." She tried to see inside the room. "Is Kim alright?"

Scorpius glanced uneasily back at the bed. "I think she will be," he whispered.

"You might as well talk at normal volume," a voice came from inside the room. "I've pretty good hearing. What with the whole Nahual thing and all."

Rose raised her eyebrows. "What's a Nahual?"

Scorpius cleared his throat, shooting a look back at Kim. Rose saw a shape roll into a sitting position. "You might as well tell her," Kim said. "No sense trying to keep it quiet." She paused looking around. "But could you find me some clothes, while you're at it?"

Rose blinked. "She's not wearing any clothes," she whispered.

"They come off when I shift," Kimball answered her at normal volume. "Sort of shred. One of the many ways being a Nahual is less convenient than being an Animagus or a Metamorph."

"Right," Rose said. "Why didn't she dress once she got here?" Rose asked as quietly as she possibly could.

"It wasn't all that high on my priority list," Kim answered. "And really, you're going to have to give up on the whispering thing. I can hear you. I can hear everything downstairs as well, if you're wondering." She looked at Scorpius. "She told them you're dating," she said.

Rose stared at her. "So, can you just always hear everything?"

Kimball shrugged, unconscious of her state of undress. "Only if it's quiet. At Howarts, it's hard to hear much of anything, because they're so much noise and talking going on all the time. Here it's quieter though. So, yeah, mostly I can hear everything that goes on."

"That's a little disturbing," Rose said, without thinking.

Kimball smiled slightly. "I bet." She cocked her head and looked at Rose. "I promise, the last thing on my mind tonight was shagging your boyfriend," she said.

Rose backed up a step. "Can you read minds too?" she asked, barely above a whisper.

Kimball laughed loudly. "I needed that," she said, when she caught her breath. She smiled at Rose, and for the first time Rose could see the bruises covering her face. "No," Kimball said. "As tempted as I am to play with you, I know he wouldn't approve," she said with a jerk of her head toward Malfoy. "I'm not psychic. I just have enough sense to know that most girls would have a problem with the idea of their boyfriend lying in bed with a naked girl."

There were a lot of things Rose might say to that, but it was hard to choose one that didn't seem grossly insensitive given the injuries she had seen.

"Ah," Kimball said. "And now for the pity." She looked at Scorpius. "There's no chance you'll all just let me be on my way, is there?"

He shook his head. "Whenever my parents get here, we'll go."

Kim nodded. Keeping the blanket wrapped securely around her, she got to her feet and started toward the door.

"Your clothes," Scorpius said. "I'm sorry. I'll get them."

Kimball shook her head. "I'd rather," she said. "It feels good to be on my feet." She slipped past Rose and Scorpius and made straight for James' room, where – presumably – she borrowed some of his clothes.

Rose watched her go, then turned to Scorpius.

"Swear to God, the last thing I was thinking about was sex," he said, arms raised in surrender.

Rose sighed. "I wasn't thinking that actually – though I'll admit to a moment of surprise. I was thinking more that two teenage boys deciding to play hero is incredibly dangerous."

Scorpius nodded. "I can see where you're coming from on that. Really I can. But if I were faced with the same situation tomorrow, I'd make the same choice." He shrugged. "I'm not going to lie to you and tell you otherwise."

"Scorpius."

"She's my best friend. She's family. And it was the best way to save her." He rubbed at his neck. "You're not going to convince me otherwise." He tucked a bit of her hair behind her ear. "But as I've no interest in a career as an auror, or anything along those lines, it's not something I think you'll have to worry much about."

"Good," Rose said, leaning forward to kiss him.

"I strive to be," he agreed, kissing her back. After a moment, he pulled away. "How did they take it?"

"How did who take what?" she asked, baffled.

"Your family," he said. "About us."

"Oh," Rose said. "Well. I think my mum's ok with it. And my dad will get over it eventually."

Scorpius smiled slightly. "I guess that's really the best we could have hoped for."

Rose nodded. "Pretty much. Yeah."

Kimball reemerged from James' room, wearing a baggy pair of sweat pants and an equally loose fitting sweatshirt.

Rose tried for a friendly smile, knowing that Kimball would balk at too much sympathy. "I'll leave you two be," Rose said. "I just wanted to make sure you were both ok." She squeezed Scorpius' hand and turned to leave.

"Actually, if you wouldn't mind staying, I'd appreciate it," Kimball said casually, walking back toward Lily's room.

Rose turned and looked at her in surprise.

"You'll distract him. Otherwise it will be a constant barrage of 'How do you feel? Does your eye hurt very much? I can ask Hermione to come up and heal it.' And a million other questions I'm not interested in dealing with." She shrugged at Rose. "I'm counting on you using your highly touted charm to keep Ms. Nosy over there busy."

Scorpius arched his eyebrows. "Why would I be _Ms_. Nosy? Do you feel good about encouraging stereotypes of nosy women?"

Kimball thought about it for a moment and then gave a sharp nod. "In this case, yes. You are definitely a nosy woman."

With that she turned and disappeared into Lily's room. Scorpius glanced at Rose, giving her a slight invitational shrug, and followed his friend through the door. After a moment, Rose did the same.

* * *

_A/N – I'm officially done. I just have to post the last chapter (this being the second to last). I've just started on the sequel, which will take place when they're all around 24 or 25. Fair warning, Sins of the Father is probably not going to wrap up as neatly as you'd like. I'll give the back story of how things fall out at Hogwarts in the sequel. _


	43. Just Fine

Rose looked over at the knock on the door. She sat with Scorpius' arms wrapped around her, watching a _film_ on a little machine the pair had apparently left in the house over the summer.

Scorpius disentangled himself from Rose and walked calmly over to the door. He hid it very well, but Rose knew how concerned he was about his parents. Every time someone came or went – Lily, to bring them food; Ginny to bring tea; Hermione to offer healing – she felt him tense. She knew he expected the worst each time they came.

This time it was Harry. He smiled sympathetically at both Scorpius and Kim, and then politely asked if he could come in. Scorpius took a step back and gestured him in.

Rose glanced over and saw Kim curled on the bed, watching Harry carefully. She had seemed almost as concerned at Scorpius about the safety of his parents.

"Well, they've taken action and managed to capture most of the targets," Harry informed them. "A few escaped, so you'll need to continue to be wary, but for the most part it went quite well."

Rose heard Kimball make a low sound in her throat and thought she knew how she felt. You don't start with who's been taken, you start with whether everyone is safe.

Harry looked slightly shamefaced, apparently realizing the same thing. "Your parents, of course," he said to Scorpius, "are perfectly fine. And, as I understand it, were quite helpful in the whole maneuver."

Scorpius nodded once, seriously. Kimball shifted her eyes from Harry to him, and then back to Harry again.

"They're at the ministry right now, but they should be done shortly. And they've given us the location where they'd like us to take you. They feel it's the safest option, until we can ensure that nothing has been done to the Malfoy Manor."

Scorpius looked baffled at this. "Why would they care about the Malfoy Manor?" he asked.

Harry blinked at him, obviously baffled by the question. "They said they wanted to make sure everything was safe before they took you home."

"Oh," Scorpius said, shaking his head. "Home isn't the manor. We never go there. It's not a good place."

Harry nodded slowly. "My mistake," he said. "I just assumed Draco stilled lived in the same house."

"No problem," Scorpius said. "When do we leave?"

"You should gather your things now," Harry decided. "We'll leave as soon as you're ready." He glanced at Rose. "I'll give you some privacy."

Scorpius smiled slightly at that. "Thanks," he said.

Harry nodded and left.

"Do you think he thinks you're going to make out as much as possible in the time you have left?" Kim asked, from her spot on the bed.

Rose laughed. "No, if he thought that, he wouldn't have left. My dad would have killed him."

"So what was with the significant look?" Kimball asked, rolling off the bed to land softly on her feet.

Rose shrugged. "He probably just wanted to give us a chance to say goodbye without my dad grumbling the entire time."

Kimball considered it. "That was thoughtful of him," she decided, obviously surprised.

Rose was shocked to find she wasn't annoyed. She'd gotten a pretty good idea what it must have been like for Scorpius and Kimball at Hogwarts, and couldn't really blame them for expecting the worst of people – especially Gryffindors, who had such hatred for all things Slytherin. "They _are_ actually good people," she said softly.

Kimball examined Rose for a long moment. Then she shrugged. "I'll let you two have your privacy," she said with a wicked grin. "And I'm encouraging all manner of things that would make your father want to kill me."

Scorpius laughed at that, but Rose held her tongue. When Kimball left and Scorpius turned to face her, she gave him a serious look. "I wish she didn't hate them so much."

Scorpius shrugged. "I don't know that she hates them exactly."

Rose huffed out a breath. "Please. It's obvious that she does. She was shocked Harry would be considerate. Honestly, I could understand it better if you hated them that much. You've suffered a lot more at James' hands. But," she made a helpless gesture, "you're much more willing to forgive."

Scorpius thought about it. "I don't know that that's entirely true. Any of it really. Kim's been a pretty big target at Hogwarts. But, beyond that, even if it were true, her feelings would still make sense to me. It's much, much easier to forgive someone for hurting you than to forget about them hurting someone you care about." He sighed. "Anyway, I really don't think she hates them. She just . . . doesn't like very many people. And never expects much of anyone. If a saint had been considerate, she would have acknowledged it in the same surprised tone."

"I guess . . . " Rose agreed half-heartedly. "Anyway," she smiled. "Since I probably won't see you again until after the holiday, Happy Christmas."

He smiled back. "Happy Christmas to you too," he said, kissing her lightly.

She twined her fingers with his. "I'll see you at Hogwarts in just a couple weeks, but it feels like it will be ages."

"You can write to me," he said, lifting they're joined hands so he could kiss hers.

She smiled. "I will. I just wish I could visit."

He shook his head. "What I wouldn't give . . ." he said on a sigh. "But I think we've probably pushed your father about as far as we can for now."

Rose nodded. "Well, a few weeks isn't the end of the world."

"No," he said, kissing her again. "It's just a very long time to go without you."

"You know . . ." Rose said, looking up at him. "If everything goes well, and you feel safe enough . . . you could always come visit."

"I thought we just decided it would be too much to ask of your father?" Scorpius asked.

Rose blushed a little and looked at the ground. "I wasn't really suggesting we ask him."

He looked surprised, but happily so. "Hmmm . . . and if a boy were searching for your window in the middle of the night, what should he look for?"

Rose had no problem telling him. She liked the idea of a few covert visits over the holidays. And maybe some more at Hogwarts. Really, anytime they managed to spend together was just fine by her.

THE END

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_A/N I told you I wasn't going to wrap it up as much as you might like! I don't exactly have a real plot planned for the sequel(s) beyond the romance-y bits, so I've got to leave some of their history blank, or you won't have anything to wonder about __ Plus, it would be boring to summarize the rest of their time at Hogwarts and boring for you to have to read my summary. The first chapter of the sequel should be up within a week or so. Like this fic, it'll be heavy on the James/Hunter stuff for the first half-ish. It'll be called Better Angels (or something along those lines). _

_As this is the last chapter of this fic, I would love to hear what you thought (good or bad). Especially if you're nice enough to give me specifics. As a note on that, if you'd like a reply, you should send your review by private message. I'll almost always reply to those. I'm not very clear on the general rule about whether or not you should reply to reviews, so I seldom do so.  
_


	44. Sequel

The first chapter of the sequel is officially up. It's called Better Angels. I've never been able to post links, but if you go to my profile, I'm sure you can find it.

Hope you enjoy.

-Naj


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